Ladder of Divine Ascent: Rung 12

 

               Okay so we’ve reached rung twelve. We’ve been climbing steadily and reached the top of rung eleven and have conquered are talkativeness. One of the things about talkativeness is that it also encompasses lying. I mentioned lying in the last blog but didn’t go into too much detail as I was knew lying was the next part of the discussion. Lying is a sin. I am a liar. Many people are. We tell lies so that we can achieve greatness, to avoid trouble and so that we can get people to believe we are better than them. As such, we lie constantly so that we can create the image of ourselves we want to project. In the court of law, this is called perjury and one can serve jail time for lying. In the same sense, when we lie we condemn our souls to hell and this jail sentence is for all eternity. St. John says, “Let no one with right principles suppose that the sin of lying is a small matter, for the All-Holy Spirit pronounced the most awful sentence of all against it above all sins. If Thou wilt destroy all who tell lies, as David says to God, what will they suffer who stitch an oath on to a lie?” St. David the Prophet and King was a liar. He told a lie when he slept with Bathsheba, he couldn’t just handle it. He also became a murderer too, but that is an entirely different blog. Those that lie become the epitome of hypocrite and we must avoid it. I would not want to be a hypocrite at my judgment. I pray that God will keep the lies from my mouth.

               St. John says, “When the demons see that in the very beginning we intend to keep aloof from the witty lecture of a coarse leader, as from an infectious disease, then they try to catch us by two thoughts, suggesting to us: ‘Do not offend the story-teller,’ or: ‘Do not appear to love God more than they do.’ Be off! Do not dally, otherwise at the time of your prayer the jokes will recur to your mind. And not only run, but even piously disconcert the bad company by offering for their general attention the thought of death and judgment. For perhaps it is better for you to be sprinkled with a few drops of vainglory, if only you can become a channel of profit for many.”  Our lies make us aloof to the truth. Sometimes we lie, to avoid the truth. We see this in the above statement, and we see this in our world today. We tell lies like men can become women, women can become men, that its okay for the same sex to marry and for us to sleep with whoever and whenever we like. The world teaches us that lying makes things right and that when we lie enough it becomes the truth. People have even lied about the scriptures so as to deny things like the real presence of Eucharist, the prayers to the saints and role of bishops and priests in the church. People convince themselves through these lies that this is what God intends for us and that anything and everything is permissible. However, St. John turns this on its head and says, “He who has obtained the fear of the Lord has forsaken lying, having within himself an incorruptible judge—his own conscience.”  Our own conscience will not accept these lies. Those who live in lies will be tormented by their conscience daily. I myself when I have told lies will writhe in agony until I finally tell people the truth. Recently this was the case with a couple of issues I was having. Those issues led me to having some pretty bad mix-ups and I had to come clean to those I hurt. When it came to it, I felt better and was able to recover from the pain I had inflicted on myself. When we need to speak and answer for something it is always best to tell the truth. To end this paragraph, I would like to quote St. John again, saying, “He who gives way to lying does so under the pretext of care for others and often regards the destruction of his soul as an act of charity. The inventor of lies makes out that he is an imitator of Rahab, and says that by his own destruction he is effecting the salvation of others.”

               Perhaps the easiest chapter so far to comprehend, and certainly the easiest to explain. Lying overall effects all of us. We see this daily in the news and on social media. We even have a whole section dedicated to so called “fake news” that supposedly is created to dissuade people from believing the truth. Whatever you think on this, understand that lies are all around us. People are not always who they seem to be. We pray that in time people are drawn to repentance and that they come to the fullness of faith through the Orthodox Church. Until then, people will struggle up this rung of the ladder and will be cast down from it. Especially those in authority who have the responsibility of giving us the facts and often misguide the populace for their own cause. I pray for you all, as I hope you pray for me. May God bless you and keep you during this time.

               Amen.