Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
This passage of scripture encourages us to speak the truth, the truth only, and nothing but the truth. This admonition may seem like a tall order in our day, where the sin of exaggeration runs rampant among many publishers, news media, politicians, individuals, and nations. As Christians we should try as best as possible to present only verifiable facts and truths that can be ascertained from reliable sources, and when speaking of our own experiences, or relating incidents, the tendency to amplify certain facts should be strictly avoided, for although many people do no know it, sin lies at the door when exaggeration is indulged.
This sin was made manifest after the twelve spies sent by Joshua to spy out the land of Canaan, returned from their journey. At first they correctly stated what they had seen of the good land, by relating the facts as they were and by presenting concrete evidence, in the form of products of the land, to support their claims. Let's read:
Numbers 13:25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. 26 And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
But after yielding to the sin of doubt and discouragement, ten of the spies began to modify the facts they had just previously stated, by greatly amplifying the dangers of the way, to the point where their exaggeration of the negatives, led almost the entire congregation into rebellion, which is contagious, and thus, by throwing cold water on the entire expedition, they effectively erased all the former zeal and energy the people had. Let's read:
Numbers 13:32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
This dark shadow, greatly magnified by the ten spies then led the multitude to exaggerate the experiences they had passed through in the desert, by accusing Moses and God of a sinister plot to kill them and their children. Let's read:
Numbers 14:1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! 3 And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? 4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
In our day the very same sin has become so common place that it is now considered normal, and even necessary, to modify the facts to serve one's own purposes. Before the invasion of Iraq, the claim of weapons of mass-destruction were floated over and over again to the multitudes, in order that public support for the war might be cemented. The ominous phrase "Mushroom cloud" was repeated several times with the hopes that individuals and nations might be scared into invading a sovereign country, even though the facts to the contrary, clearly showed otherwise.
As Christians we must be very careful no to indulge this sin in any form, and if we have already formed the habit of doing so, we should seek God urgently for cleansing from the stains of this and all other sins. Those many aunts and uncles, in-laws and outlaws who appear out of nowhere just in time for tax season, only to vanish without a trace after refunds are given, should be permanently put to rest. Those exaggerated facts on our Resumes, the companies we never worked for, and the community hours that were never accomplished should be removed, if they are not true, and instead we should allow the truth alone to speak for itself.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture that encourages us to be like Jesus in our love and practice of the truth, for God has called us to follow inn His footsteps. Let's read:
Psalms 15:1 Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
May the God of truth dwell in our hearts continually, for the scriptures say "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God". "Good night" and God bless!