untruths

DECEITFUL WORDS, NURTURING WORDS

(February 23, 2023) Mama Lava shares draws our attention to…

Hi again! How are you all?

Last month I shared on the importance of everyone exercising kindness.

I highlighted what we all know so well – that the world needs Jesus! And that Paul wrote strongly about God’s kindness leading to salvation that comes through accepting Jesus as our Saviour:  ‘… do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?’(Romans 2:4).

Kindness is defined by Merriam-Webster.com as the quality or state of being kind, treating people with kindness and respect.

In focussing on the need for kindness to be activated by Christians to the world, I draw our attention to linking words, one which hinders while the other enhances… deceit and nurture.

Deceitfulness
Lies, dishonesty, falsehood, fibs, misinformation… there are many ways to label an untruth. Did you know there is a marked difference between deceptive words and deceitful words? They are similar, but the difference is in the intent. Deceptive words are likely misleading, but deceitful words are deliberately so (wikidiff.com). This is what Merriam-Webster.com has to say:

  • Deceitful (adj): marked by, based on, or done by dishonest methods to acquire something of value…
  • Words related to deceitful: fraudulent, misleading, shady, sneaky, sly, tricky…
  • Nearest opposite words of deceitful: candid, open, trustworthy, legitimate, valid…

My deceitful words are motivated by a desire to gain something of value. What might fall into this category? How about…

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IT’S A PAGAN WORLD OUT THERE!

July 4, 2022) Richard Winter encourages standing strong for our faith in today’s pagan society…

I like options. But what do you do when the option seems to fly in the face of reality? Can we really ‘have it our way, anyway, and anytime’? If you can, it makes life seem that we’re buying from the like of Burger King – because this is how they sell the Whopper.

Now I like the term Whopper, but I also feel that in a country once termed as Christian, we are being told some whoppers! You know – untruths, inaccurate assessments, actual lies. Examples: Today we have gone from Father God to Mother Earth. In public schools, we cannot celebrate Easter, but we can celebrate Earth Day!

Pluralism and paganism
As a nation we have moved away from our Christian centredness. Although we have many Christians, no longer do people claim America a Christian country! Increasingly, many Americans believe that Jesus is only one option among many.

This is pluralism… and we are expected to accept that –

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SCAMS, UNTRUTHS, REVERSALS – OR THE REAL MCCOY!

(May 25, 2022) Robert and Maureen McQuillan bring a challenge to both Christian leaders and… so-termed ‘ordinary’ Christians.

Are you like us, getting mobile calls from strange numbers? Interstate and overseas numbers that you don’t recognise but just know immediately that here’s yet another false alarm, a scam call.

Of course sometimes strange numbers can be genuine… hospitals and medical clinics for some time have had receptionists and nursing staff phone from mobiles, not the usual phone service, due to personnel shortage and other reasons.

If one is expecting a call from such centres and a ‘strange number’ rings, one has to take a chance and answer. We can always cut off if we had to.

But on the whole, we must be careful as we learn of people being conned through phone scams. News services every now and then warn for the  ‘latest scam call.’ One must be sure that ‘strange calls’ are the real McCoy, not scams!

‘The Real McCoy’
Ever wonder how ‘Now that’s the real McCoy’ came about? A very old catchphrase declaring that something is true, genuine, for real.

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