Scripture

You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth.

~Psalms 52:3, NRSV

Quote

Integrity is being truthful with yourself; honesty is being truthful with others.

~Spencer Johnson

When you read Psalm 52:3, You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking the truth, what name comes to mind? For me, it is Bill {Slick Willy} Clinton. I was in a hotel outside of DC when the news broke about Monica Lewinsky. I think I was there for the Promise Keepers rally. Whoever was rooming with me, said, “Jack, you have to see this,” it was Clinton making his famous denial: “I am not in a sexual relationship with this woman.” In Clinton’s denial he used the present tense of the verb, “I am not,” which subtle. Clinton was notorious at lying. In fact, Clinton lied so much that it became natural: it would have required a special effort on his part to tell the truth.

But there is a greater problem than a president lying and that would be the lack of integrity in the folks who elected him. It was a proven fact that the man was a liar but that did not deter voters from electing him and many of them professed to be Christians. Lying is not just a political problem, it is a cultural problem. We live in a culture that loves to point the finger at someone else. We had rather make an excuse for our irresponsible behavior as to learn from our mistakes. We are childish and immature. We make promises and don’t keep them. We make vows and then break them. We make debts and don’t pay them. We sin but never confess them. We are a nation of liars. Isaiah could have been talking about America in 59:14, “Justice is driven away and right cannot come near. Truth stumbles in the public square, and honesty finds no place there.”

Extra

This is an old blog, June 23, 2016. I hope you have a great day. Thanks for reading the blog.