THE GREATEST LIE

By Shirley Wiggins

“…grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  John 1:17b.

What do you believe about lies?  Do you believe lies?  Have you ever told a lie?  In your opinion, would the greatest lie ever told be the lie that is most often repeated by the most people?

In my opinion, the most repeated lie ever told, and believed, by the most people is probably this:  “I just don’t have enough time!”

When you think about all the things you don’t get done, do you ever consider why they aren’t accomplished and finished? 

Or, do you, like me, just list all those things you would do if you just had more time and end up grumbling, whining, and complaining (with a good bit of self-pity) over the difficulties of your life?

The thought came to me as I pondered yet another list of the things I don’t have time for, that since God created  life and the universe and time in the first place, that surely for any one of us to say we don’t have enough time is just not true.  “Selah.  Pause and calmly think about that.”

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.  …God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.  God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light day, and the darkness He called night.  And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”  Genesis 1:1-5 (NASB). 

God created absolutely everything in the space of six days and then He rested.  Over everything that He created, He declared that it was good.

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule … over the earth.’  God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”  Genesis 1:26-27

What a great idea God came up with!  I am thrilled and absolutely delighted with it because that made it possible for me to be me.  And, it made it possible for you to be you!

God was apparently delighted with it, too:   “God blessed them; and … said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and … rule …over every living thing that moves on the earth.’   … God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

God created everything and it was very good;  and there was, and still is, plenty of time to do the things that are needful and necessary with time left over for rest.

“… By the seventh day God completed His work ….  Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”  Genesis 2:1-3.

The Amplified Bible defines the day of rest as one  to be … “withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God.”

Even with taking the seventh day to rest, there seems to be enough time to do all our work. So, why do we say that we don’t have enough time?”

If we are honest, it probably  means that we are not spending our time wisely but are casually letting it spend itself, just slipping away from us.  

 “Spending” reminds me of a financial budget which shows me how much money I have to spend and how it should be spent.  There is a limited amount of money and time, and it is possible to use either or both of them up and be left with none.

Our time on earth is limited.  It will be used up one day.  One of the most important things we can do is to learn to number our days and be good stewards of the time we have left.  We cannot be good stewards of our lives if we do not know the truth about life and the God who designed it and gives it.

Just as Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, was sent to earth with a mission to be fulfilled in a limited amount of time – 33 years – God also has a plan for our lives.   God frequently sends me reminders to number my days and to seek His guidance.  He faithfully gives me grace and wise instruction.  Do I listen to it?  Do I take that most important follow-up step and do what He says?

Oh, yes – the greatest lie?  In my opinion, the lie I tell myself about my time is not the greatest lie ever told, even though it seriously damages my life. 

The greatest lie ever told, in my opinion,  is the first lie recorded in the Bible,  told by the father of lies, with this implication:  that God is a liar and that what He says cannot be believed, that He isn’t good, nor is He loving to the people He made to inhabit and to rule over the earth.

This lie is too often believed and passed down from generation to generation – whether deliberately stated or deceitfully implied.

Read Genesis 3 and look closely at the conversation between the deceiver and the first woman as he engaged her in some question and answer time.  As a woman, it causes me great concern that the Enemy of our souls came to the woman to introduce the first lie.

Outrageous lies are born from the outrageous Liar and they continue to be perpetrated today from the “devil”… the father of lies, in whom there is no truth, and from whom there will never come truth, for he can only speak lies.  See John 8, especially verse 44.

All of God’s Wisdom for us is hidden in Jesus Christ, not in a “tree” desired to make one wise!  Contrast Genesis 3:6 with First Corinthians 1: 17-31. 

Let’s challenge ourselves about some of the things we’ve heard and believed that we are deceiving ourselves about in our day-to-day lives.

The world offers millions of distractions and entertainments and something to fill our minds with every moment.  But we don’t take time to know the God who made us in His own image.

Will you make a nakedly honest inventory of how you are spending your time?  Look around your home, your car, your office and note the devices that you devote precious time to each and every day.

Number those items, such as the iPad,  iPhone/Smart Phone,  MP3, laptop computer, radio, television, etc. Then make an honest assessment of how much time they subtract from your day and from your family.  How many ‘social media’ accounts are you maintaining and managing every day?

 As you carefully look at the words, the lyrics, and the images that are being poured into your mind through your eyes and your ears, and which will eventually fill your heart, ask yourself how you feel about God seeing and hearing these things, too.

Are they healthy and wholesome, adding days to your life and life to your days?  Or, are they garbage and filth, fit only for the trash, as they subtract the days from your life and turn your soul into a stone-cold, dead thing within you?

Are they deceiving words which fill your mind with lies of the enemy and the world?  Deceptions always harm and they never turn out for good.

Or, are they words of truth and beauty, filling your mind with truth?   God’s Holy Bible is Truth. 

How much time are you investing in reading and studying the Bible, God’s Holy Word?