Captions Included

I am often perplexed by my constant desire to lie. These lies are not lies about wealth, size of my home, type of car I drive, or any of the objects that much of our society gauges its value on, but lies by omission, leaving out details that I have deemed make me less than what God promises I am, concluding that if listeners hear detailed truth they may paint an inaccurate picture of who I am.

Oswald Chambers writes, “Another thing that distracts us is our passion for vindication. St. Augustine prayed, ‘O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.’ Such a need for constant vindication destroys our soul’s faith in God. Don’t say, ‘I must explain myself,’ or ‘I must get people to understand.’ Our Lord never explained anything- He left the misunderstandings or misconceptions of others to correct themselves (My Utmost for His Highest, 1995, p. Nov 23).

What if, instead of trying to add captions to all the truths of who I am in a way that gives definition to the “why” or “what” I’m doing or not doing in life at this current season, I simply tell the truth of where God has me currently, and if people judge, misunderstand, or misconceive, like Jesus, I’ll let others correct themselves. And that will be that.

mann