A friend recently told me a fable that has a great message for us to reflect upon:

One day, a man named Truth and a man named Lie stood by a river just outside town. They were twin brothers. Lie challenged Truth to a race, claiming he could swim across the river faster than Truth. Lie laid out the rules, stating that they both must remove all their clothes and at the count of three, dive into the freezing water and swim to the other side and back. Lie counted to three, but when Truth jumped in, Lie did not.

As Truth swam across the river, Lie put on Truth’s clothes and walked back to town dressed as Truth. He proudly paraded around town pretending to be Truth. Truth made it back to shore, but his clothes were gone, and he was left naked, with only Lie’s clothes to wear. Refusing to dress himself as Lie, Truth walked back to town naked.

People stared and glared as naked Truth walked through town. He tried to explain what happened and that he was in fact Truth, but because he was naked, people mocked and shunned him, refusing to believe he was really Truth. The people in town chose to believe Lie because he was dressed appropriately and easier to look at. From that day until this, people have come to believe a lie rather than believe a naked truth.

Instinctively we want to choose the pretty or easy or choice of least resistance, but so often those options are the lies dressed in truth’s clothing. The hard naked truth can seem undesirable making it easy for the devil to draw us away from what is truly good and holy. Jesus said, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Reading the Bible and prayer are the two best ways to immerse ourselves in Jesus’ word. Let us strive to truly be Jesus’ disciples so we will know true freedom and not be distracted by the devil’s crafty lies.

Scripture: This week, read John 8:31-32. What is it saying to you?

Call to Action: Resolve to read the Bible and pray daily for Jesus to reveal his Truth