The Liar Within

As I am sitting here writing this blog, I am watching a Nigerian movie. If you know me, then you know I LOVE Nigerian movies and culture! Big shout out to my favorite Nigerian actress Bimbo Ademoye! Let me get back on track, anywho…. Getting straight to the point, there’s a liar within us ALL! Whether we tell “small white lies” or are habitual liars, there is a liar within us ALL! Now, before you lie and say, “I’m not a liar”, yes, you are! Before, you choose to stop reading this post, I encourage to follow me further and you will see the truth within. Whether we lie to ourselves or lie to others daily, the truth of the matter is we are a lie. Lies have a way of making false evidence appear real (FEAR) particularly when the truth might hurt, be hard to sit with and comprehend but, yield a better response than the alternative.

We must understand that we allow because of FEAR, yes.. FEAR! If there was nothing to FEAR, then there will be no reason to lie! For example: when someone lies about cheating one might say “ I lied because, I didn’t want to hurt you!” The truth is the individual lied because telling the truth would most likely result in a breakup. The individual lied because they had a fear of losing you and the relationship. Lies for the most part is rooted in some sort of FEAR. We lie because we don’t want to lose, we lie because it’s easier to mask a lie then cope with the pain, anguish and hurt we have caused others or deal with the truth about ourselves. Think of lies as the fire to the fuel (behavior) we’ve already created.

We lie to ourselves all the time. We say we are going to do right and we know we’re not. We say “I’m going to work out tomorrow and et right.” We think about it but, still eat McDonalds, drink soda, consume mixed drinks (several) as if are body is craving every unhealthy thing possible (and it usually is because we’ve verbalized change) and we never find our way to the gym. We attempt to have better attitudes, interact differently with our enemies, turn the other cheek and speak to people who do not like us and yet, when it’s time to show up we end up being the same person we’ve always been. We lie to ourselves because we don’t want to face reality. We don’t want to accept truth as truth and face reality instead of living in fantasy.

I didn’t write this to call anyone out but, I did write this for us to become introspective and look at the root causes for our lying. If we lie, we don’t have to face the truth for the moment but, the truth always manages to find its way out. Lying erodes our character and integrity with others. Believe it or not people would rather hear the truth than accept a lie as truth under false pretenses. Once a person’s character and integrity has been eroded its usually difficult to restore and if restoration does occur, it generally will not be the way it was before. I challenge you for the next thirty days to tell the truth and observe how liberating and free you feel. Tell the truth to yourself, to others and with tact. There’s a liar within us all but, we don’t have remain liars for forever!