There is a lying spirit that has permeated this country; from governmental officials down to church officials, everyone has given themselves over to lies in order to pursue personal interests.
We have clearly entered a post-truth age. How would one describe this epoch? It’s an age in which important objective facts are less influential in shaping one’s opinion. It’s an age that is driven by selfish ambition and self-appeasement; therefore, one’s personal feelings are elevated above obvious facts. The post-truth age sets the stage for perception to triumph reality. Speaking lies is not harmful as long as it brings one to his or her expected end. In essence, it’s an age of glorified dishonesty.
In order to diagnose what we see in our culture today, let’s go back to a time period that, on the surface, resembles our days remarkably; it’s the days in the scriptures that describes the culture in Israel right before the Babylonian captivity. It’s a nation that’s in crisis. It’s a people headed toward something that’s cataclysmic; and sadly, very few have recognized it.
In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet Jeremiah allows us to capture and discern the mindset and the belief system of those who should have known better. These people were so diluted in their perspective of God, they ultimately misdiagnosed their current position with God. It’s when God’s people neglect what they know, but convince themselves that they are in right standings with Him. Mark this down: the culture around these people will turn putrid.
What was the culprit behind the downfall of the people in Jeremiah’s day that runs parallel to our times? Lies! Believing lies and spreading lies had become normal. The culture had become so engrained and desensitized by lies that the truth sounded like a lie. The late British novelist, Dresden James once said, “When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic.” As such were the times. In Jeremiah chapter 7, we see this diagnosis in God’s response to the people: “Do not trust in these lying words..” (v.4); “Behold, you trust in lying words..”
We need to be aware that Heaven is taking notice of those who are telling, supporting, and defending lies. To protect lies is essentially working for Satan. Be willing to stand on the side of truth even if you have to stand alone.