The exhortation of Jesus Christ recorded in the Gospel of St Matthew is our Summa Priorita, our #1 priority in life. We know this because Jesus tells us so. “And Jesus said unto him (the lawyer who was trying to trap Him), you shall love the Lord your God with your whole mind, soul and heart. This the first and greatest commandment. The second is like unto it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets.” (Mt. 22: 37-40)
All the law hangs on those two commandments! That being true, I will assert here that Truth, truthfulness, being a lover of truth, should be Priority 1-a for all of us, since love and truth are inextricably linked forever. Jesus tells us in St. John’s Gospel (8: 31-32): “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples; you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
I submit that the following verses could pass as ‘Satan’s Creed’ to the children of darkness. “If you reject the Word of God and live in lies, you are truly my disciples; you will be my slaves and your deceit will make you mine, my preciousssss!”
Honesty is inextricably tied to love in pursuing true freedom in Christ Jesus; diametrically opposed to the dishonesty and deceit woven into the very fabric of the demonic realm. Love of God and neighbor die under the smothering blanket of intentional, habitual deceit!
The love of God and neighbor cannot be lived in one whose lies and deceit are habitually employed to trap and destroy, libel and slander fellow human beings in the pursuit of any devious, selfish and Godless motives.
Today’s culture in politics, mainstream media, academia, the business and religious world, is profoundly infected with the disease of “speaking with forked tongue”. A phrase which means “to lie, be deceptive or say one thing while meaning another”; a phrase which suggests snakes and ancient gardens and things.
Recall the serpent in the Garden of Eden, its sly, deceptive double-speak to Adam and Eve in order to wound, deceive, even destroy their happiness and ultimately the happiness of all humanity. The demons flat out rejected God’s plan of eternal salvation; could never attain it after that rejection, and so they determined neither should we!
“Psssssst!” hissed the demon. “Eat of that apple and you will not die; your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Thus spake the serpent!
We cannot even begin to fathom the depths of the human misery and suffering which has enslaved all humankind down through the ages because of that one demonic lie, enslaving countless souls even unto eternal damnation! The irony? The life the demon promised Adam and Eve – and promises you and me – truly leads to death through the poisoned apple of lies!
Jesus the eternal Word is Truth. Truth tells us to love one another in truth, no exceptions! Abiding in Truth will make us truly free. To choose to be swallowed up in the dark, murky, quagmires of deceit and deception is to freely choose a repulsive slavery to the beast. Please, please dear friend, I beg of you – choose to walk in the warm, invigorating light of the Son Jesus, choose light and love and life in Jesus Christ!
As for me and my ranch, we will serve our Lord – we will always choose life and freedom in Christ Jesus, our eternal and infinite Truth! Viva Cristo Rey!