Half-truth: A statement that conveys only part of the truth, especially one used deliberately in order to deceive someone. A statement that mingles truth and falsehood with deliberate intent to deceive. A statement that is only partly true and that is intended to deceive people.
So a half-truth uses what is technically true, but with intent to mislead someone to believe what is not true, or to be deceived. Usually by leaving out key facts, half-truths lead people to believe untruths.
And while we are fed these half-truths from all around us: politicians, media, even friends and family, the voice within is often the most condemning and deceptive one.
Some common ones we might believe:
- I am not good enough
- I can never make the mark
- I am a failure
- God didn’t come through for me
- Life is supposed to be easier, less complicated
And the list could go on and on. Now, half-truths are more deceptive than lies; lies, though deceptive too, can be easier to weed out. Cross check it and they usually can’t hold up very well. Half-truths are a little trickier though.
Take the list from above: I am a failure. In many ways that is true. Just today, I failed to love my kids well. I failed to not yell at them. I failed to treat them with respect and dignity. By many aspects, I am a failure. But that’s not the WHOLE truth.
It is technically true that I have failed today, many times… but Satan, described as “the deceiver of the whole world” in Rev 12:9, is using that to mislead me to believe that I am a failure, that my identity lies in my accomplishments and as I have not met some, I am a complete failure. He craftily leaves out the important part; the part that says that as a Christian “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). “And through Him there is no condemnation for me” (Rom 8:1).
So with the whole truth, I am no longer a failure, but a treasured child of God, who screws up, yes, but does not have to be defined by that. I rest in his grace and mercy.
1 Peter 5:8 tells us to “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Yes indeed he does.
He even goes after Christ himself in Matthew 4. And the method: THE BIBLE! Satan quotes scripture to Jesus to lure him to throw himself off the cliff. But Jesus, in his complete knowledge of the word and comprehensive understanding, debunks Satan and sends him off unscathed.
2 Samuel 22:31 tells us that “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”
Take refuge in Him today and dive into His word for the whole truth about your life. The truth that sets us free and debunks the wretched half-truths whispered to us:
- I am not good enough:
Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God. (2 Corinthians 3:5 ) - I can never make the mark:
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8) - God didn’t come through for me:
Not in the way that you thought, but his ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). - Life is supposed to be easier, less complicated:
Yes it is… before sin was introduced. On this side of Eden, things will be difficult; we should expect that, not ease. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33b)
So let’s lean hard in to Christ and His word to remember who He is and therefore who we are.
My pastor, Matt Chandler says “We don’t move past having to tell the truth to ourselves. We are prone to believe the lie, we have to preach to ourselves the truth.”
