{"id":4636,"date":"2019-09-16T18:01:05","date_gmt":"2019-09-16T17:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pender.org.uk\/?p=4636"},"modified":"2020-02-11T20:47:02","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T19:47:02","slug":"lies-lies-lies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/2019\/09\/lies-lies-lies\/","title":{"rendered":"Lies, lies, lies!"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4638″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever been told a lie? Have you ever known that you were being lied to?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure your answer to all these questions is a loud \u201cYes!\u201d There are a lot of lies around, but have you ever thought about how many different types of lies there are?<\/p>\n

If I were to ask you to guess my age, you would probably say that I am about 60, since most people do. You might now be thinking that statement itself is a lie, but it\u2019s true \u2013 honest it is! For the sake of argument, let\u2019s just say that you do think I\u2019m 60.<\/p>\n

Now, if I said you that I\u2019m actually just 17, you would know for certain that I was telling a lie. You would look at me. It would be an obvious lie, a blatant<\/strong><\/em> lie. This type of lie is easy to spot.<\/p>\n

Another type of lie is more difficult to spot, though. It\u2019s the lie which is so close to the truth that it\u2019s believable. If I told you that I\u2019m actually 62, then it\u2019s obviously closer to the truth than me saying that I\u2019m 17 and it\u2019s very close to the age that you think I am. You think I\u2019m 60. I say I\u2019m 62. They\u2019re close, so what I told you could be true. It\u2019s a believable<\/strong><\/em> lie.<\/p>\n

We have a very fancy set of scales in the house. They\u2019re electronic. You type in your height and age, then you stand on the scales and hold two handles. The scales then do the clever stuff – not only do they measure your weight, but they also measure your BMI, your heart rate, the composition of your weight by muscle, water or fat. Then it uses all that data and calculates your metabolic age. In other words, it tells you how old it thinks your body is! Fortunately, I\u2019m pretty fit, because I do a lot of walking, cycling and I go to the gym and work out with weights. My friendly set of scales tells me that I have a metabolic age of 54! This is another type of lie \u2013 the lie which is based on scientific assessment. It\u2019s very believable too, partly because it\u2019s fairly close to the age you think I am, but mostly because there is evidence to support it. This type of lie is the convincing<\/strong><\/em> lie<\/p>\n

The next type of lie is really difficult to spot. If I told you that I\u2019m 60 \u2013 we\u2019ll, there you go then! That\u2019s how old you said I was! It\u2019s the age a lot of people think I am! \u00a0That\u2019s it, then! It must be true! This is why this type of lie is difficult to spot \u2013 it actually becomes the truth. It\u2019s the true<\/strong><\/em> lie.<\/p>\n

A variant of the true lie is found on the internet. I read it on Facebook, so it must be true. Enough said. This is the total<\/strong><\/em> lie.<\/p>\n

Now I have the oddest type of lie of them all. It happens frequently. I get the same reaction every single time. People ask me what age I am. \u201cI\u2019ll be 70 in January,\u201d I answer. \u00a0The response is invariably the same and generally goes along the lines of \u201cNo way!\u201d \u00a0\u201cYou are not!\u201d \u201cREALLY???\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t look it!\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a bit of a family thing \u2013 my mum is 93 and looks better than most 80 year-olds. My daughter, who is 39, was recently asked for proof of age when she went for a drink in a pub. Like I said, this one is the oddest of all the lies I have described here, mainly because it\u2019s actually the truth. The problem is that it is difficult to believe, and so the truth sometimes actually becomes a kind of lie. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a truer lie, or a faulty lie or just an unacceptable truth.<\/p>\n

UK politics over the last 3 years have been worse than I can remember in all of my 17 or 54 or 60 or 62 or nearly 70 years. There have been so many things said about Brexit by so many people that no one knows what is truth. Unfortunately, it\u2019s more a case that the truth is, in fact, lies and therein lies the truth. Politicians have excelled in their general ability to hide the truth, and I think that even they are beginning to believe all the lies they are telling and forgetting all the truths they are not speaking.<\/p>\n

We have our part to play in it all too. We can all spot the blatant lie, but then the other types of lies that I have described come into play \u2013 the believable lies, the convincing lies, the true lies \u2013 and then the one that none of us can accept anymore \u2013 the truth itself. When someone says something about Brexit, we judge what we have heard by how it fits into these categories.<\/p>\n

But Brexit is just a bit of life. We all make our bed and lie in it. It would help if we got honest with ourselves. I am well aware of the fact that I have trouble working out what makes me feel the way I do about everything. It\u2019s far too easy to blame others \u2013 the things they do, say or think. I\u2019m just lying to myself, though. They might be the trigger that sets me off on a rant or a rage, but the truth is that I put the bullets in the gun. The truth is that I\u2019m just lying in wait for them to put a foot wrong.<\/p>\n

The truth is that truth is not always acceptable. Truth hurts. Truth often means that we have to do the right thing, or admit we are wrong. Truth is what we all need, but it\u2019s not something we can buy or borrow or steal or make. It\u2019s what makes us us<\/strong><\/em>. If I live a lie, I\u2019m not me \u2013 I\u2019m a lie pretending to be me. If I live the truth then I can be free to be me.<\/p>\n

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4638″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_column_text]Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever been told a lie? Have you ever known that you were being lied to? I\u2019m sure your answer to all these questions is a loud \u201cYes!\u201d There are a lot of lies around, but have you ever thought about how many different types…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[423,424],"class_list":["post-4636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian","tag-lie","tag-truth","category-5","description-off"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pfWaLo-1cM","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7158,"url":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/2022\/11\/badsadglad\/","url_meta":{"origin":4636,"position":0},"title":"8 – Bad Sad Glad","author":"Robert Pender","date":"20\/11\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There is no photo at the top of this post because there isn't one which could cover everything that I am going to say. The three weeks since my last post have been a bit busy with appointments and it has been a whirlwind of emotions and news. There have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7224,"url":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/2022\/12\/13-how-are-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":4636,"position":1},"title":"13 – How are you?","author":"Robert Pender","date":"10\/12\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=\"7225\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][vc_column_text css=\"\"]Just three little words - How are you? How often do we say them? I think most of the time we don't even say them, we just let them out, because it's just a form of saying hello. Yes, we mean the hello bit of it,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4531,"url":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/2019\/05\/a-shadow-of-my-future-self\/","url_meta":{"origin":4636,"position":2},"title":"A shadow of my future self","author":"Robert Pender","date":"01\/05\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"[vc_row][vc_column width=\"1\/2\"][vc_single_image image=\"4532\" img_size=\"full\"][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\"1\/2\"][vc_column_text css=\"\"]Many years ago I had a very sore back. It would come and go every few months. First one side would hurt and, just as it was getting better, then the other side would start to hurt. I have a very vivid memory of John\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Christianity"","block_context":{"text":"Christianity","link":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/christian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7242,"url":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/2022\/12\/14-plans\/","url_meta":{"origin":4636,"position":3},"title":"14 – Plans","author":"Robert Pender","date":"16\/12\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=\"7243\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I have always been a great believer in making plans, especially when we are doing something special or going away somewhere. It is best to get it right and not miss anything out. Be in control! The trouble is that we are seldom, if ever in control.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6120,"url":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/2021\/01\/lets-start-at-the-very-beginning\/","url_meta":{"origin":4636,"position":4},"title":"Let’s start at the very beginning","author":"Robert Pender","date":"29\/01\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]You might not agree with what I'm going to say, but that in itself will just prove my point. Let me begin by saying that I disagree. In fact, we all disagree. We disagree about politics, about religion, about football teams, about diets, fashion, music, money. We disagree about everything\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bible"","block_context":{"text":"Bible","link":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/bible\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7424,"url":"https:\/\/pender.org.uk\/index.php\/2023\/06\/23-lashings-of-lashes\/","url_meta":{"origin":4636,"position":5},"title":"23 – Lashings of Lashes","author":"Robert Pender","date":"10\/06\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=\"7426\" img_size=\"full\" alignment=\"center\"][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There are a lot of things happen when you get chemotherapy, but everyone is different and it all depends on the recipe of drugs which they put into you for your particular cancer. 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