What about Conviction?

How is it that the power of suggestion is enough to draw out every single instance of injustice one has committed? Church last night was great. Dr. Brassell, my pastor, has been going through Exodus on Sunday night for last ten weeks. The last eight weeks, he has stopped on the Ten Commandments. Last night, he preached on the ninth commandment, which as most of your know as "Thou shalt not bear false testimony." Simply translated, it is "You will not lie."

Okay, basic in principle, right? Right. What about the long term ramifications? Lying always starts small. It always begins with one small cave in under pressure. Lying is also a part of human nature. It is our instinct to not tell the truth. For the first understanding of lying, one must first understand that as a Christian, redeemed only by the grace of God, we are as Paul says, "dead to sin." Being dead to sin...complicated and yet simplistic. Dead to sin does not mean that temptation does not arise. Dead to sin does not mean that our flesh still does not yearn. Dead to sin means we merely have a choice: obey God or obey the calling of Satan and the world.
Now a lying tongue starts small and grows to be an out of control problem. It starts out by affecting one person, and then it begins to affect more people, which in turn begins to affect relations are work, followed by the work ethic, and finally it explodes...not with other people, but in the face of person who originally told the lie. Remember that God hates lying...it is an abomination to him.

I have to tell you that as I sat listening to it all from Dr. Brassell, I was immediately convicted. Disclaimer: This does not mean that my life is lies. This conviction was one of dwelling on past mistakes. Some of the things I've gone through, that I've been confronted with, has been a purging of things of my past. I can't remember a specific example, but the longer I've lived for Christ, the more my past come to bite me in the butt, but I've made it through each time. God has brought me through the fire and I'm made pure by the fire of hardship and conviction, because Lord knows I do not deserve it.

Always remember that the truth and honesty will always set free that which is hidden.