Calling Optimism or a Lie

 Calling

Optimism or a Lie

 

 Do you speak words to people

to just pacify them?

No matter how you might decorate those words

they are a lie and never feed the person!

  

How many times has a well wisher told you

what you wanted to hear and it felt good

but it ended up not being true.

From the time we were little children, we have heard,

“everything is going to be just fine”

and afterwards you wonder which

dictionary they looked up ‘fine’ in.

Those words can be comforting, but not always true.

The point isn’t to say comforting words,

but sometimes our words don’t have any depth.

Our words don’t touch the real need, they just pacify.

Like giving a baby a pacifier it satisfies for a little while,

but never fills the belly.

How many times have you had someone tell you

they would do something and they never did?

They probably meant to do it, or thought

it was a good idea to say they would do it,

but they never gave it another thought

and therefore you were left disappointed.

Most of us find ourselves lying with one of two words:

If you have to give a yes or no answer,

it’s because someone wants something from you.

They want an answer about something that has already

 been done or something that will get done.

People make big decisions based on these two little words.

In the church, these two little words have a lot of impact.

You are planning an event and you have people

who say they will be there to help, but they

don’t show up because they didn’t

get enough sleep the night before.

That lie will not sit well with you

when you have to do twice the work

that you did not have time for.

There is a good chance the next time you see them

you will lie to them when they say, “I am sorry”

and you say, “it’s ok”

instead of speaking the truth in love. 

When we lie or speak falsehoods

to another in the body of Christ

we are lying to ourselves,

because we are all one body.

So don’t kid yourself, use the appropriate words

and let your yes be yes and your no be no!  

Scripture Reading

Ephesians 4:25-32 NIV

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood

and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

26 "In your anger do not sin":

Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,

27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer,

but must work, doing something useful with his own hands,

that he may have something to share with those in need.

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,

but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs,

that it may benefit those who listen.

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,

with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger,

brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another,

forgiving each other,

just as in Christ God forgave you.

Matthew 5:33-37 NIV

33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago,

'Do not break your oath,

but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.'

34 But I tell you,

Do not swear at all:

either by heaven, for it is God's throne;

35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool;

or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.

36 And do not swear by your head,

for you cannot make even one hair white or black.

37 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes ,'

and your 'No,' 'No';

anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

James 5:12 NIV

12 Above all, my brothers,

do not swear

— not by heaven or by earth or by anything else.

Let your "Yes" be yes,

and your "No," no,

or you will be condemned.