day 1057: The Truth Can Hurt

"Then Joshua said to Achan, 'My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, by telling the truth. Make your confession and tell me what you have done. Don’t hide it from me.'"

Tonight on the OWN Network, Oprah Winfrey will air her interview with Lance Armstrong, who apparently will be telling us the truth for the first time in his cycling career.  The show may well garner Oprah her highest ratings since she signed off of her daily talk show (that is if anyone can find the OWN Network on their cable guide). Unfortunately for our society there won't be any shocking admissions from Armstrong, just a lot of sadness and hurt created and the world will have to decide if he will be forgiven or not. I am too sad over the whole thing.  I was one of the people who took him on his word and believed that he was different from the rest; almost super-human, a person able to push and take his body to a place no one else has been able to find. I watched all the scientific studies of how he had extraordinary VO2 uptake, lungs that could process more oxygen than anything seen before, a heart that was like a hot-rod piston that sent rich blood to screaming muscles, and a mind that could not be beaten or accept defeat, no matter the pain or weariness. But now, he is none of any of that.  Maybe it wouldn't be as bad if he hadn't compounded the lie by year after year building himself up for another victory and public grandstanding. Maybe had he not created a brand around himself that symbolized that the worst could be defeated if we bound together and contributed to find the cure of what takes so many of our loved ones from us.  Look, we all have faults and we all hurt other people and ourselves in our lives.  Companies and people all know that the truth can hurt, but those who correct their ways, take their lumps and move on can find a better path. We've seen it before and that is likely what Lance will begin to do tonight.  It is only going to be harder for him because the world watched, cheered and defended him through seven Tour de France victories and the build up of The LiveStrong Foundation. How many lessons do we need to learn? My prayer is that Armstrong feels the burden to turn this all around and become one who through contriteness, humility and concern can teach and model to others the value of the truth and the power of recognition and change.

We are all far from perfect and this is why Jesus came to save us from our own sins.  The truth that we must continue to align ourselves with is the truth that is given to us through Him. As best we can, let's be reminded that the truth should be lived out daily in all that we do. We have choices that we will make all day long and many will involve telling the truth. Let's not find ourselves on the wrong side of the choice.

Reference: Joshua 7:19 (New Living Translation)

day 863: Noise Cancellation

“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”

As you read the title of this post you might think I am going to talk about the technology of noise cancellation headphones like Bose, Dr. Dre, Skullcandy, etc. I could as that technology is great for those of us who travel frequently and get tired of the airplane engine drone. But, I am not going to write about that technology. Instead I am going to relay an interview I saw on TV last night between Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga. Patti just can't enough of Oprah so we now DVR Oprah's extended format interview segments on Sunday night. Patti convinced me to watch the interview and I was drawn into the segment because it was about her Mother and the very strong, and actually quite grounded relationship she has with her daughter that is more normal than relationships I have seen between non-celebrity/normal moms and daughters. Lady Gaga's Mother is a person of committed faith and it shows in how she talks to her daughter. During the interview Lady Gaga talked openly about her creative process and how important it is for her to find a place of stillness and peace to "cancel out the noise". The noise she talked about was the world that screams at her about who she is or who she should be. Whether you like what she is, or stands for or not, you have to appreciate her raw talent and the discipline that she uses to find her creativity. Not to mention, the very accomplished business person she has proven to be. "Cancelling the noise" is a good lesson for us all and as we try to create, we may have to find our own quite spot to do so, figuratively or literally.

To hear God, we also have to be still. We are told so. If we think we are going to hear God in the midst of the noise of the world, then we are going to have to be finely attuned. Instead, God gives us the instruction that we need. "Be still and know that I am God." How committed have we been to canceling out the noise of the world so we take time to be still with Him. He can and will work within us if we will get rid of the noise long enough to find stillness. Can we take a few minutes today; at our desk with the door closed, in our car before we pull out of the parking lot, in a quite corner for just a moment to be still with Him and allow Him to cancel out and replace the noise?

Reference: Psalm 46:10 (New Living Testament)