December 7, 2005

Lying

The world’s too big to fool — or to fool with. Lincoln talked about something like that when he counseled about fooling some or all and when you can do it.

But then of course, fooling is just another way of lying, only milder, perhaps, and more fun. Paul talked about being a fool for Jesus as if he figured Jesus would rather like that. But I suspect that lying’s not what Paul meant or Jesus wants. Sticking your neck out for the Truth, the Way, and the Life seems more like the kind of foolishness they had in mind. Amazing that the some of the world still recognizes that equation after all these centuries.

Fooling is surely not what our leaders are doing when they can’t seem to make up their minds about torture and who’s doing it and whether it’s being done at all and whether we should actually make it legitimate of all things. And it’s surely not being a fool for Christ whatever the pious nostrums they utter.

I suppose there’s just enough image of God left in most of us to know damn well when we’re lying and misusing our freedom to choose (which is what that “image” is all about). And I suspect there’s enough of that gracious gift left in us to know that torture is sure as hell not what God has in mind for the way to love your neighbor.

But when we behave this way, about all we think we have left is to lie about it in the hope that somebody will fall for it and think we’re really okay, and that this is what we have to do in order to be honest. Apparently some folk will vote for irony every time if simply because they never recognize when it hits them square in the face.

[Visit Episcopal Relief and Development at http://www.er-d.org/ to make a donation to catastrophe relief or Episcopal Migration Ministries at emm@episcopalchurch.org to volunteer to assist displaced people with housing.]

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