Conflict Resolution

WARNING: long read ahead with some chastising mixed in for good measure.

Lies, they have a way of wreaking havoc externally, and ultimately, internally. 

Steps and stages

The external: someone lies to you, you believe the lie, and take action based on what you now believe. In short order, you experience some type of discomfort that starts out as an inkling, a tiny piece of suspecting, that something is amiss. The inkling grows into a frowning irritation that fades in and out of your knowing, popping up periodically to prod you, to prompt you, to pay attention. Lastly, you get hit over the brain with confirmation that forces you to narrow your eyes in focus mode, so that tracing back in time occurs. 

1. There was a lie 

2. Then the belief

3. Then the discomfort

3. Then the inkling 

4. Then the suspecting something is amiss

5. Then the frowning irritation

6. Then the knowing with prodding and prompting

7.. Then the confirmation that forces focus

They lied, you believed. You got caught in a lie, but wait a minute, Does that mean you believe liars, you believe lies? Does this mean you are a liar too? Does this mean you are capable of lying to yourself to accommodate a deceiver, making you, equally deceptive? 

Ask me how I know this sick cyclical pattern and I will tell you, we have all lived it, over and over again. We all have our reasons for lying and believing liars, and none of them are justifiable. There was one Man/God that could not tell a lie, and this is why he is known as Truth. Just typing that last sentence has me pausing as I type this one. The Bible says this about truth:

John 8:32

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

My question to you, following the scripture you just read, is: What do you need to be made free from?

I can simplify this for you dear reader, if you allow me. Mixed and mingled into all of our ungodly behaviours, are forms of lying, and the ten commandments are the single best source of identifying and pinpointing, where you and I deviate, engaging in self and other deceptions to our own detriment. I could send you off to The Bible for an update on what God commands, but we are here now together. As an exercise in self-discovery regarding your tendencies toward sin, let us look toward scripture for a keen comprehensive understanding, of how lying causes severe soul injury, co-lateral damage for the ones we profess to love, and results in spiritual conflict that needs resolving. 

And God spake all these words, saying, 

I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 💔 Bondage, dear reader, is slavery ... are you a slave to sin?

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Gods ... what do you worship as though it is your sovereign, reigning and ruling over you? Is it money as your honey, is it booze as your babe, is it power as your precious?

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 💔 Do you have any of those evil eye symbols hanging about as pretend talisman protectors; or perhaps a horseshoe hung so that the luck doesn't fall out; perhaps you have a buddha in your backyard, or a frog in a yoga pose decorating your garden?

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 💔 Have you bowed down to the almighty dollar any time in the recent past? Did you get injected with covid to keep your cash flowing? Were perfect strangers your bosses, and have you ensured your future based on their misleading messages, thereby visiting upon your offspring the iniquity of your injurious obsequiousness to filthy lucre? Did you know that by bowing down before anyone or anything, other than God Almighty, that you display your hatred for him? And showing mercy unto thousands of  them that love me, and keep my commandments. 💖 Perhaps you kept, and continue to keep, God's commandments: well done, dear reader, God's mercy is upon you. 💔 If you have not kept God's commandments, and you want to start, now is a very good time to engage in some conflict resolution. You are here now, for a reason, why not fall on your knees, pleading your guilt, in order to ask God to make you into an honest person, that turns away from sin and toward relationship with him? Why not?

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 💔 OMG ... do you say this, dear one? How about G O D with damn added on? What about saying, JESUS, with emphasis in a sentence when you are expressing angst, irritation, or have stubbed your big toe? Oh no, oh no you didn't. Stop that immediately. God does not like it; he hears the utterances each time you causally or caustically use these terms, and he marks you as guilty, as someone that curses him. Stop this right now.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 💔 Is Sunday your funday, for shopping, lunch or dinner out; just another day of the week? Perhaps you haven't a clue that God says rest is the best on the sabbath, because that is exactly what he did after his work of creation was complete. Maybe you have forgotten that there is a time for work, a time for play, and a time to soak up and savour all that is good and worthy of your attention, when you acknowledge God as your provider. This coming Sunday may be the one you take to quietly enjoy all that God has done, and continues to do, for you. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 💔 If you do not work on a Sunday because your place of employment is shut that day, but you go out and shop, or eat out, you are causing others to work, to serve you. No, no, that is a no-no, according to God's commandments. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it. 💖 You can rest, dear reader. God made the seventh day holy, and whether you decide the seventh day is Saturday, or Sunday, that is a day for you to enjoy time off of all merchandised activities. Sunday is my day of rest, because the New Testament tells us that Jesus resurrected on the Sunday following his Friday crucifixion. You pick a day and do what God commands, because if he can rest, so can little old me and you. 

Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 💔 You didn't pick your parents, but then again, they didn't pick you either. God decided who to send you to, and those people that you call mum and dad, didn't always do the best they could, but somehow, you are related to them, and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. If you still have a parent in your life, it is a commandment to honour them, and there is a promise of your days being longer as a result. I don't know your situation, but I do know that parents are not to cause their children trouble, or to vex them; being abused by a parent is unacceptable, but just not taking care of them because you prefer to avoid the responsibility, means you dishonour them, and disobey God. Take good care of your aging parents, and do the best you can for them: this glorifies your heavenly Father that knows and sees all, including what is in your heart. 💞 On the flip side, your parents may have loved you so much they blessed you generously in every way they knew how, even when you didn't deserve it. Isn't it just and right to give back as much as is possible, to thank them for their care of you when you were young, wild, and free?

Thou shalt not kill. 💔 One might think that not killing is an automatic life affirming agreement we can make with one another and yet, we see the cavalier committing this crime against God and his created beings, all the time. If you work for the government and do not question your orders, or if you teach children and tell them they must line up for injections, you are part of the killing army that does the bidding of the murderous devil. If you work at the hospital, and suggest to each patient that they must be up to date on all vaccinations, you are unwittingly lying to yourself about the role you are actively playing in the demise of the people you believe you are protecting. Do you, dear reader, wonder what the outcomes are for the words ushering from your mouth, when people take your advice, or strong suggestions? Have you maimed or killed anyone, yet?

Thou shalt not commit adultery. 💔 Now, if you are flirting with the idea that flirting with someone other than your spouse is acceptable, then that first kiss with your crush will not come as a surprise. Next, when you and your chosen cheating partner, fit your private parts together in stolen moments of intimacy, know that you have given yourself over to the greatest betrayal ever experienced by your spouse, and have forfeited any and all trust you ever had with that person. Adultery destroys marriage, ruins families, and impairs and impedes healthy and normal development, for sad and wounded children, that are subjected to broken relationships. Think twice before looking outside of your marriage for attention and favour. In the long run, you may be sad and lonely in your marriage, but then again, perhaps you and your spouse will mature, given time, and you will one day appreciate each other, once again. 

Thou shalt not steal. 💔 What isn't yours, just plain old, isn't yours. What isn't yours, belongs to someone else, no matter what the thing, or creature, happens to be. If it ain't yours, don't touch it, don't be tempted to take it; leave it, leave it ... and walk away. When we take what does not belong to us, we leave a hole in the person it belongs to. Not mine, means I can't have it, so I refrain; it is that simple. 

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 💔 Well now, you may not like those neighbours of yours, and frankly, they may not like you a whole lot either, but that is no reason to talk about them, and tell other neighbours tales that have a touch of truth, with a heavy taint of slander. You ask, Who pray tell, is my neighbour? Everyone dear reader, everyone is your neighbour. We must bite and bind the tongue when we are tempted to retaliate, or when we are feeling jealous or petty, and want to bring someone else down by saying things that are not true about them, to anyone that will listen. Have you ever been gossiped about, and misrepresented? If you have, you know how horrible this feels, and how you might want to get back at the back biter, but alas, we do not repay evil with evil. This said, let's all lasso the tongue, and keep it under restraints, to save our neighbourhoods from destructive forces that burn fences and bridges too. NOTE: to bear false witness is legally reprehensible, and can cause hardship for the one wronged. The damage can be catastrophic, and life altering for the victim falsely witnessed against. 

Thou shalt not covet they neighbours's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. 🖤 If only the globalists didn't suffer from hungry eyes that devour all before them, especially all the people and things that belong to others. If only the grass wasn't greener across the street, and people actually appreciated what they have, and who they have in their lives. Each time we want what others have, we are letting our own family members know that they are not enough, that they are missing that certain something, and that we would rather be somewhere else. It is a miserable life when there is no gratitude, and when the search is forever on for better than what is before us. Coveting has to be one of the more grotesque states of mind, for those that suffer from it: it is an ugly ravenous dissatisfied contemptuous beast, on the backs of those that are burdened thusly. Thanking God for his provision is one amazing way to break the strangle hold of covetousness; sharing what we have with those we love, and with those in need, is yet another way to ensure that we do not gather in more than we require out of greed. Generosity is a state of mind that says, I want for nothing, and want to sharing this feeling with you. 

So here we are together, dear reader, ending our time with a reminder to work toward conflict resolution, starting with honest to goodness truth telling to save our souls, and ending with the hope of freedom from sin, and its consequences, through Christ our LORD, Amen.  

I bid you adieu.