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Any artist who paints knows that there is one color you never want to put in your painting and that is mud. Now this isn’t a color you can buy in a tube or jar, it is really a non-color, but actually what has been dubbed as “mud” when too many of the wrong colors have been mixed together and end up looking very much like it’s descriptive name.

With life, we also see that the temptation to mix a little lie with the truth can lead to trouble and muddy up our life. We read in Genesis 3:13 of how Satan tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. If you read it carefully, you’ll see that much of what he said to her was the truth. He just mixed in a little lie or two, and colored the truth with distortions. These lies mixed with the beauty of the fruit were just enough to convince Eve to sin. Jesus referred to Satan as the “father of lies” (John 8:44) and says that telling lies is consistent with who he is and always has been.

We continue to see evidence of the evil one’s influence in our society today. Unfortunately, too many Christians don’t know the truth well enough to spot a lie when it’s there. We may be so impressed with the beautiful color that has been painted that we buy into the lie.

In Psalm 7:14 it says, “the wicked conceive evil; they are pregnant with trouble and give birth to lies. They dig a deep pit to trap others, then fall into it themselves”. One of the most frequently used methods of deception is repetition of a mistruth. Many businesses and organizations whose motives are less than honorable have used this technique effectively to influence large segments of our society. They have discovered that if they tell a lie often enough, loud enough and to enough people, it will be believed.

How can we best sort through all of the information that bombards our minds and souls every day? Is there any way we can truly find the truth about important moral, ethical and spiritual values? For centuries the Bible has been the one consistent source of truth that has withstood time, societal and cultural changes. In it we read that we can ask God to give us the gift of discernment to help us distinguish the truth from a lie. We also read that the author and finisher of our faith in God’s truth never changes, for it says: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8