Have you ever tried to live down a lie? A lie has consequences; once it’s there, it’s always there. And here’s the most famous, and deadly, from Genesis:
Now the snake was the most cunning* of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He asked the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat from any of the trees in the garden’?”
The woman answered the snake: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, or else you will die.’”
But the snake said to the woman: “You certainly will not die! God knows well that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, who know* good and evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day,* the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Original sin began with Satan’s lie. It appealed to human pride. But every sin begins with a lie. No matter what the sin is, when we choose what we know is wrong over what we know is right, it may take a while, but the repercussion of that lie will come. It’s also difficult to watch someone we love go through the repercussion of his/her own actions–especially if something they’ve done affects us personally–because our own life may also be affected.
Human beings often lie, but they don’t like being lied to. Have you ever felt tied up in someone else’s lies–maybe even the lie of a person you love? A child, a spouse, a friend? One lie leads to another and another to cover up that lie, and on, and on, until the liar is literally wrapped in his lies, often taking those he loves with him.
The only way to live down a lie is with the Truth. Come clean. Get it all out. Ask for forgiveness of the person we’ve harmed with our lie. Hopefully, that person will forgive. And when we ask God for forgiveness–and we must ask–we don’t have to worry. We will be forgiven. We Catholics call that the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Though it may be humbling, there’s nothing as uplifting and freeing than forcing ourselves to admit the truth.
So, can we live down a lie? Only by admitting it, then facing the consequences with a God who is so madly in love with us that he can make us new!
Translating a World on the Edge 
This reminds me of a certain character named Theresa who, as a child, says she didn’t lie or cheat or deceive. Because of her grandmother keeping her in line.
Now, I wonder what happened to her, having such a fine, sweet husband and all. And I wonder if she’d come clean on her own, how might the family have reacted?
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Debra, I love it! Theresa might have been much better off–but she didn’t have the courage. It took the ‘undressing’ by others she loved to shove her forward. I’m glad this is working now!
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I see that whatever was wrong last Friday is working now.
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