Mensonges

In French, "mensonges" means "lies."

Dictionary.com defines "lie" as:
–noun

1.

a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; anintentional untruth; a falsehood.

2.

something intended or serving to convey a false impression;imposture: His flashy car was a lie that deceived no one.

3.

an inaccurate or false statement.

For some reason I have been thinking about lies and lying lately.  We all do it . . . whether we mean to or not.  A lie could even be withholding a particularly important piece of information.  But most of the time?  It is completely on purpose.  We tell ourselves that we do it just protect the other person from pain or anxiety . . . but really? Our reasons are much more selfish.  We lie because it is the easy thing for us to do.  We lie to protect ourselves.  We lie so that the person we are lying to will still approve of us or not become angry with us.

The most upsetting part about being lied to is most often not the lie itself . . . it is the fact that the person lying to us doesn't think we are worth the truth.  They don't think we are deserving enough in their eyes to be told the truth.

**This is where I would make a joke about the French getting it right when it comes to their word for "lies:" "MENsonges.  But that would be a lie . . . Women lie just as much as men do.  The French could have easily made their word "WOMENsonges." You would think I would be biased and say that all men are liars and cheats . . . but I have seen women do the exact same things men are accused of.**

It becomes scary for us when someone we love and trust lies to us . . . betrays us . . . shows a side of themselves we never thought could exist.

Then what starts happening in our brains (and our hearts)?

Everything is turned upside down and mish-moshed every which way.  If someone we trusted completely could lie to us . . . then anyone can . . . so how can we know who to trust and who to keep at an arm's length?

It reminds me of a lyric in a Vanessa Carlton song called Heroes and Thieves.  It says:

I'm blinded by these

Heroes and thieves at my door

And I can't seem to tell them apart anymore

How do we separate the heroes in our lives from the thieves? How do we tell who is here to help us and who is here to hurt?  

The answer?

We can't. 

But what can we do?

Take comfort in the Lord.

Take comfort in this: