Liar! Liar! Gospel Liar!

There are things in life to which we do not give any thought. Our breath, heart-beat,

the sun-rise,a bird flying are a few examples, unless of course if you happen to be a chronic asthma or heart patient. But there is yet another thing that even they are not very conscious of– Communication. We are social beings. We live in a community and we need communication. Be it the physical world or the virtual world, we do communicate. We keep communicating through words, expressions, body language, emails, networking sites etc. Communication is much more meaningful when we are able to see the person communicating - when his words, actions, expressions etc, are all put together. Even in the virtual world, we have emoticons which try to express the emotion of the ‘unseen’ partner in the conversation. With the onset of webcams and 3G phones, even such limitations are removed and we have the potential of entirely meaningful communication.

Let us pause for a moment and see what the essence of communication is. Communication in a nutshell is lettin

g another person know what is there in my heart. When I try to communicate what is in my heart, I need to do my best for the other person to understand the ‘what’. A man’s usual pursuit is that. Now, suppose a man, having this capacity, is communicating something different from what is in his heart, what would we say of that? His intentions and motives are questioned. Whatever the reason, he steps into a grey area for sure!
Also, I want you to note the aspect of how we communicate. By this I mean, the expressions we utilise: the words, body language etc which the listener’s mind registers in the process of communication, which is the real act of communication. This is a tricky area. For a genuine person, it is a fact that how I communicate will be in-line with what is in my heart. For example, if I am angry, along with the words, the expression of anger also comes out. If the tree is bad, the fruit will be bad and vice versa. Who we are is what we do.
Let us look into a few office scenarios.

‘Nikhil walks into the office and switches on a song in his cell phone, a bit too loud. You are irritated by it and he gets a hint. He asks, “Is the music too loud?” You say, “Oh… huh… It’s Ok”’.

Irene comes in new stilettos and asks you, “How is it?” You say “Wow! Pretty cool” and then walk out unable to stand her anymore, SMS-ing your friend, “Sheesh! Irene is such a show-off... God! Save me!!”

The Bible terms such casual everyday situations and their equally casual everyday reactions as Flattery and Slander.

However, there are slightly more sensitive areas. When your boss says, “Steve, DO IT ASAP!” and what you actually want to say is, “Are you nuts?!” But you say “Sir, I do want to do it. But the current project is in a crucial stage which demands much of my attention. However, I will definitely give it my best-shot.” Of course, this statement goes out with the ever present  attached!!! Your conscience along with the Heavens will shout, “Liar! Liar! ” Isn’t it quite true that good fruit will not, or rather, cannot be borne by a bad tree. If that is the case, how can I possibly put up a smile on my face while having anger in my heart?

With the current trends and teachings and tips freely distributed for magnifying and manifesting your management and communication skills, we have got more materials to justify the phony mannerisms that pepper our communication and ultimately help us climb the career ladder. It seems that in such moments, we are better performers than all the Academy Award winners put together! If only company managements gave a second thought to this, MNCs like Wipro, Infosys and so on and so forth could have stormed the movie industry with such glorious talents aboard or at the very least, out-sourced its staff to Hollywood instead of making them sit in the benches!

“What? Should I just go ahead and shout at my boss asking him if he is nuts, the only end result of which would be that I end up a jobless nut myself?? Why can I not diplomatically express to another person that I am upset with his actions or words? Well, granted that it’s a perfectly sensible demand and frankly speaking, if you are capable of doing the same with your spouse and children, by all means go ahead. But, what if you’re not?

What I am trying to stress is that, we cannot contradict who we are and what we are, when we express ourselves. What you are in private, what you believe and do in private is the real You. Any other expression of yourself is not You.

Why is this important? Specifically, why is this important if you are a person trying to share the Gospel? Do you think that Irene or Nikhil can’t read veiled and implied messages and find the truth-lessness in your response? Always remember, People aren’t fools! They have the capacity to read through you and weigh your words and actions. Just when you think that you have come-clear, people might catch you red-handed in your inconsistency. Once you are found in that grey area, people won’t ever trust you, neither will they respect you. It is said that Abraham Lincoln once stated, “You can fool some people all the time and all the people sometimes, but you cannot fool all the people all the times”

Just think…When a person whom you do not respect or trust shares something, your obvious reaction would be denial or at most dubious and noncommittal. After all, why would you even consider what a two faced man has to say?


If you are recognized as such a person, what will the stance be when you try to share the Gospel with Irene and Nikhil? How would they look at you and your words? At an instant would they not turn a deaf ear to you or will they not be unconvinced? Did you realise, in this state of affairs, more than you being despised, it is the Gospel Message that is being disregarded! It is not surprising if we are branded ‘Gospel-Liars’. A liar carrying the Gospel!


Well… this puts you in a tight spot, doesn’t it now?? Check-mate? Yes, to put it bluntly, by our self, it is check-mate. But with Jesus, even here we have Total Victory. How? Simple. Love… Genuine love for your colleagues, boss, and company alone can give you authentic communication in word and deed. Love people as Christ loved you. With this, at times of irritation, when you feel despised, when people run over your head, you will be able to forgive people because of God’s Love in your heart.

Let us pursue coherence in our being and doing, which enhances the meaning of the Gospel message and through which your colleagues will begin to enjoy Jesus, even as their Personal Saviour. May God give it to you as His Grace!