10 Pentecost 06 b Proper 14

A priest wound up his sermon by saying, “Next Sunday I am going to preach on the subject of liars. And in this connection, as a preparation for my discourse, I would like you all to read the seventeenth chapter of Mark.” On the following Sunday, the preacher rose to begin and said, “Now, then, all of you who have done as I requested and have read the seventeenth chapter of Mark, raise your hands.” Nearly every hand in the congregation went up.

Then said the preacher, “You are the people I want to talk to. There is no seventeenth chapter of Mark.”

In what is called, at the time, the most massive in-depth survey of what Americans believe that has ever been conducted, James Patterson and Peter Kim put their fingers on the moral pulse of the nation. By their own testimony, many of the results were alarming.

According to Patterson and Kim’s book a number of years ago, The Day America Told the Truth, 74 % of Americans agreed with the statement, “I will steal from those who won’t really miss it.” 53% said, “I will cheat on my spouse – after all, given the chance, he or she will do the same.” 31% said, “I will put my lover at risk of disease. I sleep around a bit, but who doesn’t?”

When asked what they would do for ten million dollars, 25% said they would abandon their entire family, 23% said they would become prostitutes for a week or more, and 7%, one out of fourteen, said they would murder a stranger.

The moral erosion of our country is perhaps most clearly demonstrated by our growing disregard for the truth. Only 31% of Americans agreed with the statement, “Honesty is the best policy.” 64% said, “I will lie when it suits me, as long as it doesn’t cause any real damage.”

The dishonesty problem is everywhere. Consider recently a picture appeared on the internet and was published by Reuters purportedly showing a number of buildings on fire in Beirut with the caption that this was the result of Israeli bombing. It was later discovered that this picture was doctored. NBC news back in 1994 rigged a car with explosives, then portrayed it as an accidental explosion. Even Ann Landers’ column had printed a letter from an expert which she changed and filled with her personal opinions and accusations, passing it off as if the expert had said it.

In their otherwise non-religious book, Patterson and Kim reached the conclusion that our social problems stem from the fact that Americans now live in a “moral vacuum” where “religious figures and scriptures that gave us rules for so many centuries, the political system that gave us our laws, all have lost their meaning in our moral imaginations.”

Based on their thousands of interviews, Patterson and Kim conclude that when Americans want to answer a question of right or wrong, “they ask themselves…the overwhelming majority of people (93%) said that they – and nobody else – determine what is and what is not moral in their lives. They base their decisions on their own experience, even on their daily whims.”

We have become what the Bible describes as “a law unto ourselves.” We have made ourselves the authority over the Bible, the Church and God.

A let down in moral values is now considered the number one problem facing this country. Eighty percent of us believe morals and ethics should be taught in our schools again.

That’s a great idea. Teach morals and ethics in our schools again. But on what could these morals be based if not on what they were based in the past – the Judeo Christian truths taught in the Scriptures? If we build our house on the moral shifting sand of popular opinion and political correctness rather than on the rock of eternal truth, we shouldn’t be surprised to see our nation slipping out from under us.

A number of years ago I was contacted about being eligible for a free gift if I would listen to an hour long presentation. The only stipulation was that I had to make a certain amount of money a year to be able to hear this presentation. When I told the sales rep. that I did not make enough to qualify he said, “No problem, just say you do. It’s OK.” He had run into this little snag before, and he was used to people accepting his assurances that lying was perfectly alright.

When I nicely explained that it was not alright with me, the congenial atmosphere suddenly changed. He became indignant at my outlandish suggestion that I should tell the truth. “Look, these people would rip you off in a second – they’d lie to you in a second, so it’s no big deal.”

A defendant took the witness stand. The judge asked him to put up his right hand and answer the following question: “Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?” The defendant responded, “I’ll try anything once.”

Our lesson from Ephesians today says: “Therefore, putting away falsehood, let everyone speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”

Randy Alcorn tells the story of a time that he took his family out for a boat ride. The price was quoted and he found out that children twelve and under were half price. “How old are your kids?” the salesman asked. Alcorn said that one of his daughters was eleven, but the other, who was standing there with him, was thirteen. “No sweat,” he assured Alcorn. “Just say she’s twelve. They’ll never know.” Alcorn replied, “But that’s not true. We’re not going to lie.” The attendant responded, “Look, what’s the difference? Just say she ‘s twelve.” “Nope,” Alcorn replied, “I’m trying to teach my children that telling the truth is important.”

Alcorn said, “He gave us the strangest look, not condemning, just bewildered. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “OK, that’s cool. Whatever.”

Telling the truth seems to no longer be important. Just look at some of the most popular television shows. I challenge you to pay attention to the number of lies that are told on these shows.

Why should we worry about telling the truth? Because God told us to speak the truth and not to lie. “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,” says Proverbs 12:22. Also, as we speak the truth we become free. Free from guilt, free from worry about the other person finding out, free to relate to others. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” He also wanted to emphasize the importance of truth by saying of himself, “I am the way, THE TRUTH, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.

So Jesus is the ultimate truth, and He has affirmed that the words which the disciples would write down as Holy Scripture, would become the standard for truth. That means rather than spending our time looking for loopholes in the Scriptures, we would do well to spend our time looking for ways to obey the teachings of Scripture and to speak the truth.

For example, the Bible gives us great wisdom when it says, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger; let the thief no longer steal but let him work. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths.

So, how do we put away falsehood and speak the truth?

First, we must want to speak the truth. If we want to speak the truth we will want to get into a relationship with the one who is the Truth, Jesus. Through that relationship we can lean on the power of Christ to help us become more aware of our need to speak the truth.

Second, get to know the Bible. David said in Psalm 119, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.”

Third, as our lesson from Ephesians reminds us, “Get rid of all bitterness and wrath and anger and slander and malice.” All of those things can cause us to want to tear the other person down and build ourselves up, often causing us to lie about them or to them.

Fourth, seek to become an imitator of God. What would Jesus do is not just a slogan but rather a motivation to imitate Christ.

Finally, St. Paul says, “Walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” St. Paul also said in 1 Cor. 13, that “Love is not self-seeking.” Quite often lying is done simply to try to protect ourselves or our reputation. As we walk in love we become less and less concerned about trying to protect our reputation and more concerned about speaking the truth in love. Love rejoices in the truth.

Now, I do have to give a word of caution. Jesus said that we are to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. This would apply to the area of speaking the truth. Sometimes we may be tempted to speak the truth, but not in love. We may be like the husband who, when asked by his wife if he thought she was fat, said, “Yes, I do.” Well, he didn’t see her for two weeks. After two weeks the swelling in his eyes went down enough for him to finally see her. Sometimes it is better to remain silent or to focus on something else. “Honey, you have a beauty about you that transcends the physical. It’s that beauty that matters to me.”

I want to close with a quote from 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian, Søren Kierkegaard who said, “The man who is himself conscious of being an individual, and thereby is conscious of his eternal responsibility before God…know, that even if he could with the help of evasions and excuses, get on well in this life, and even if he could have gained the whole world, yet there is still a place in the next world where there is no more evasion than there is shade in the scorching desert.”

What is the final determining factor in your life when you are face with the prospect of telling the truth or telling a lie? Is it you, yourself, your feelings, your fears, your reputation? Or is it God and His Word?