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Online Truth
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Country singer Dave Dudley spoke of it in one of his truck-driving songs. It was something about his truck, with its “smoke blowin’ black as coal,” as he put it.
“Blow-by” to an auto mechanic has something to do with gaseous vapors blowing past the pistons and not being effectively burned. Obviously, this is not the ideal condition for a vehicle to be in.
Probably everyone has heard the phrase, “blowing smoke.” It means throwing up a smoke screen, covering or shading the truth, or being false. Putting up a false front is so easy to do—“playing the game,” as it is sometimes called.
It has recently been realized that the normal way of courtship comes up short, in this sense. Trying to be something we are not will only work for so long. But sometime after marriage, something has to pop. The bubble bursts and we stare stark reality in the face.
Country and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs sang a song entitled, Don’t Get Above Your Raisin’. Don’t forget your roots and put on airs, trying to be something you are not. And if you think you really are something to behold now—then certainly don’t forget where you came from.
Don’t forget your humility—the humble roots from which you sprang. In fact, the realization that “you can’t take it with you” should be a sobering thought to all and push us toward the achievement of lasting values.
Follow your heart and be true to yourself. Systematic self-examination is the key.
A pop singer poked some fun when his song said, “I was keeping the faith”—when he was actually in the back seat with a girl and behaving loosely. But the Good Book says, “Examine yourselves, to see if you are in the faith” (2 Cor. 13:5, NKJV). A little introspection never hurt anyone.
As our planet continues to revolve around the sun, we will want to make sure our lives truly revolve around the Son. That will mean being honest and true to Yahweh, those around us—and to ourselves.
But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other, for “Elohim resists the proud, but gives favour to the humble.” So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. I Pet. 5:5-6, The Scriptures 98.
It’s been said that you can take the boy from the country but you can’t take the “country” from the boy. That can be a concept for which a person can reach. We need to be honest, true and down to earth, and not “put on airs.”
A dancer at a cabaret (as often portrayed on television) may make entrance amid smoke and mirrors and exotic lighting. But, in a sense, it’s a fantasy—for showy spectacle only. It is designed for visual effect but may not be true to reality.
“But let Elohim be true, and every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). But we don’t have a live a lie, and we can be honest and true. We can be true to ourselves, to each other, and to Yahweh.
If someone was attracted to you by some admirable trait, don’t change it now. If you once stood for something worthwhile or gave your promise—or promised that you stood for upstanding principles—don’t hedge on it now. Deception and inconsistency in one’s relationships can only lead to trouble.
To be tried and true means to stick to your convictions and not waiver. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23, NKJV).
Stay the course and remain consistent in your pursuit of those higher principles. Then you will not be flirting with mirages. Indeed, anything less is to play with smoke and mirrors.
In Jeremiah 13:25 (NASB) Yahweh says, “Therefore I will scatter them [Israel] like drifting straw to the desert wind. This is your lot, the portion measured to you from Me…because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood.” And Proverbs 30:8 says, “Keep deception and lies (literally, words of falsehood) far from me.”
In actual fact, the test for a true disciple is to remain free from falsehood and putting on airs—entirely free from being deceived by smoke and mirrors in spiritual matters. As noted in The Message for 1 Corinthians 15:16:
If there’s no resurrection, there’s no living Messiah. And face it—if there’s no resurrection for Messiah, everything we’ve told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you’ve staked your life on is smoke and mirrors.
As we endeavor to live better lives, we will indeed want to steer clear of smoke and mirrors.
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