As we get older, we become more aware of how many people embrace lies for personal gain. Most of the “news” that we see is merely an affirmation of the most popular and profitable lies. Announcements, for instance, of the various perils that Global Warming is about to unleash upon us are in every single media outlet. These are all lesser lies that operate under the umbrella of the bigger lie in the same way that specific sins all serve the greater cause of death.
We are introduced to lies very early in our lives. In pre-kindergarten, we learn that we should be taken from our families and herded together to begin a long process in which we absorb the vast lies that governments want us to make a part of our thinking. When we get out of “school”, our minds are packed full of lies. This process is widely heralded, and is called “education”. More exalted lies are told during the period of “higher education”.
At some point, we become aware that there is another realm in which truth is king. If we’re lucky, we learn about it when we are young, and someone who loves us tells us, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” If we do not bear false witness, we are automatically at odds with those who do bear false witness. The more they enrich themselves by bearing false witness, the more they hate the idea that they should not do what is the foundation of their earthly well-being.
