Live Not By Lies.
Psalm 52:2-5
Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit.You love evil more than good, Falsehood more than speaking what is right. You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.
The old folks amongst us certainly remember the name Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. If you are like me, you remember him as sort of a hero – or at least a good guy who survived through bad times. On Feb. 12, 1974, the day he was arrested and sent to the Gulag, he wrote a paper that has been entitled “Live Not By Lies”. Below is a link to that 5-page document.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03064220408537357
I strongly encourage you to read it. Proposed therein is a modest way to stand up to the totalitarianism that over took his nation. His proposal is simple: refuse any longer to accept any lies put forth by the media and the government. Give them no place to settle in your lives. Rebut and refute them and do not repeat them. You don’t need to argue against them, for this is often a waste of time. Just respond and claim without argument that the claims are lies and that you will not live by lies.
If you look round you and see yourself almost drowning in the lies of the government, the mainstream “news” sources, or social media, then I suggest you are seeing what has been referred to as a creeping soft totalitarianism – an attempt by leftist elites to slowly but persistently take over control of the entire society without the use of force. As Solzhenitsyn points out, this is what initially happened in what became known as the USSR, and it started with lies and the creation of social divisions. It culminated with the state using police and the military to take control of those who wouldn’t accept the party line, imprisoning them and executing them.
As a Christian, I personally have some strong convictions about obedience to the governmental authorities, so my responses to this silent coup are limited by God’s Word. If you are a Christ follower, I encourage you to spend time investigating what Scripture says about the matter and follow what is said there. Please remember that we have been promised persecution and suffering if we walk in the light and expose darkness, so weigh your choices carefully. Also remember that Jesus and the apostles did not try to change their societies. They wanted to change individuals through new birth and divine indwelling. A society full of people like this will be changed, I guarantee it. Please keep your focus on sharing the good news and making disciples even as you stand up for truth.
If you do not consider yourself a Christ follower and you also see the trajectory of our society towards totalitarianism, you can still take Solzhenitsyn’s warning and stand up for truth. Do it for the sake of you and your children. Let not the lies stand unchallenged.
I am not fearful for I know who wins in the end and I know that my body and spirit are in God’s hands and are protected by His promises.
For those who hold not that faith, you can still prepare yourself. All of us can take the measures suggested in a great little book entitled’ “Live Not by Lies” by Rod Dreher who interviewed a bunch of people who survived the Czechoslovakian and Polish takeover by totalitarianism.
I am not fearful, nor am I worried nor overly pessimistic about the future. I do know that if we do not learn from the past, we will likely be overtaken by forces who have taken over in the past.
Ephesians 6:14 – Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
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For His glory,
Jim