Do me wrong, do me right
Tell me lies, but hold me tight
Save your good-byes for the morning light
But don’t let me be lonely tonight

I was a pretty young kid when James Taylor released this song.  I was way too young to fully understand its context, but I liked the song and I ruminated on the lyrics.  What struck me was the request to “Tell me lies, but hold me tight.”  Whether you’re 12 or 92, most people don’t want to be told lies.  As a general rule people hate to be lied to.  We remind our kids that they will be in a lot more trouble if they lie about what they did wrong instead of owning up to it.  We hate lies.

Except when we don’t.

‘Tell me lies, but hold me tight.’  We will willingly conspire with someone telling us pretty lies if they shield us from a truth we perceive but don’t want to examine too closely.  Think of the lies we tell ourselves, especially about relationships: “If I only do X, he will love me.”  Or the lies that trap us in damaging ways of living: “I can’t change because…”  “Nobody will ever love me.”  “Everything’s terrible/perfect.”

Some of the strongest condemnations in the Bible are reserved for false prophets – for people who say what the people want to hear rather than the hard truth that God has to say.  Jeremiah warns: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:16 ESV)

Sometimes the word that God speaks to us is hard to hear.  It judges our sin and selfishness.  But lies which soothe us can destroy us.  Lies enslave, but “the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

The truth of the Gospel begins with some hard truths about our inadequacies, our selfishness and our inability to please God through even our best efforts.  That can be hard to
hear. 

God tells us no lies about ourselves and is under no delusions about us.  But knowing us perfectly, God loves us without limit.  God’s love for us can’t be defeated by our sin or even death itself.

Prayer:  Holy One, speak your truth in my heart and set me free from lies and delusions.  Amen.