Main news for 31 December 2007

How do we speak with people, even with those very close to us? It is amazing how many lies we speak. Not shameless lies, of course, but untruths, not quite the truth. And not necessarily for malicious or cunning purposes. Sometimes it is to "spare" the listener, sometimes to embellish a story or ourselves. But we no longer even realize how weightless our word becomes; it loses its creative power, because only truth has such power. We grow used to our own deceit and accept it as normal, and therefore we expect the same from others. So there is no trust in one another or in any other word, and gradually trust in the Word of God also departs. Beginning with small things, lying gradually undermines and destroys the very foundations of our life. How can we stop, how can we "tame" our tongue? The Epistle of James says that no human being can do this (James 3:8). But Jesus has good news for us: "With God all things are possible" (Matt. 19:26).