John 8:43-47
Why do you not understand what I say?
Because you cannot bear to listen to my words.
You are from your father, the devil,
and you prefer to do what your father wants.
He was a murderer from the start;
he was never grounded in the truth;
there is no truth in him at all.
When he lies he is speaking true to his nature,
because he is a liar,
and the father of lies.
But it is because I speak the truth
that you do not believe me.
Can any of you convict me of sin?
If I speak the truth,
why do you not believe me?
Whoever comes from God
listens to the words of God;
the reason why you do not listen
is that you are not from God.
Anthony Esolen writes in Catholic World Report that our Lord Jesus the Christ reminds us to speak plainly and directly, “Let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of evil.” (Matthew 5:37).Therefore, we who are committed to holiness must be committed to clarity of intention and speech. For:
The lie is the distinguishing feature of evil, because of its self-devouring commitment to what is not: it is an inner vacuity. [...]
Orwell’s dystopian regime in 1984 rests upon a ground floor of terror and violence, but its bedrock foundation is the lie: witness the hero Winston Smith’s work at the “Ministry of Truth,” sending precious archival materials down the “memory hole,” where they will be lost forever. It is why Dante situates fraud below violence in the Inferno’s decrepit descent into non-being and idiocy; so we find the giant Nimrod, builder of the heaven-aspiring Tower of Babel, sputtering gibberish, and the consummate liar Satan uttering not a single word, but telling the same old lie again and again with every flap of his bat-like wings, “I rise by my own power.”
Esolen notes that the result of lies is confusion and chaos. Indeed, the late Malachi Martin with keen insight had observed that whereas simplicity and clarity are the hallmark of goodness, a confounding complexity is a mark of evil because the labyrinth of lies is confusing.
Former satanist Deborah Lipsky, now a specialist in education in Maine, can testify to all this.
Before her return to the Church, Lipsky had spent years in Satanism, where she gained sharp insight into the various ways and reasons demons gain power in our lives.
Lipsky says the occult is the foremost way that evil enters our realm, along with sexual immorality, negativity, hatefulness, and other forms of sin. But often people forget about seemingly trite and common practices such as lying, which in our day is rampant, to the point where lying has become our second nature. Lies in sales pitches, advertising, politics, and in personal relationships. We rationalize lying, and consider some forms like white lies, harmless. But there is no such thing as a “half-truth.” There are only “half-lies.”
In her new book, A Message of Hope, Lipsky points out that lying is one of the devil’s most effective ways to separate us from God, for at the heart of darkness is the Prince of Deception:
“Untruthfulness of any sort is the sort of ‘stuff’ demons feed on. It is a vibrational pattern that mirrors their essence. As they absorb this ‘energy’ of lying emanating from you, they grow stronger. Lying is beyond question the most toxic activity we can engage in. Every time we ignore the truth, we ignore God. God is Truth. When we lie, we can’t be part of that because He is absolute truth. Lying is a demon’s native tongue. When you lie, you are not only speaking the language demons can connect with, but you also are in sync with a demon’s nature. [...]
We convince ourselves that under certain conditions telling a lie isn’t a sin. If anything, the one you are deceiving is you! Demons aren’t finicky; they will feed on any deception including white lies. I am guilty of knowingly telling white lies because I don’t want the person to suffer undue emotional stress if they can’t handle the truth at hand. That doesn’t make it right. Telling a full lie or half-truth is the quickest way to nourish a demon. If a lie is an especially ‘juicy’ one, you can bet that the initial demon drawn to your lie will scream out ‘buffet!’ so as to attract his buddies. Demons are not only pack hunters, but they are also communal feeders.”
It is no wonder, then, Lipsky warns, that “The Holy Spirit and Holy Angels including your guardian angel will ‘step back’ a step … when you engage in telling a lie because they refuse to co-inhabit in your ‘space’ with any hint of evil.”
Yikes!!!
The plain truth is we are breaking one of the Ten Commandments (the 9th) every time we lie.
Period.
The plain truth is lying is at the basis of every one of the Ten Commandments. Think about it . . . .
Telling lies causes bondage that eventually clouds our judgment. In contrast, the truth — and only the truth — sets us free. The truth also brings Joy.
“I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6).
“I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
~Eowyn
