The Real Truth

Well, I have to admit that I was sucked into the voyeurism trap of the reality TV show The Moment of Truth. I was actually waiting for another show coming up, but had time to kill. I don't think I've ever seen such hype for a show that's really only worth about 10 minutes of the actual footage. By watching only the last half of the show, I'd been given the entire season's run down on everything I could have possibly missed. Their main tout was "Lives ruined! You have to see it to believe it!" So, I did.

The show is based on contestants being strapped to a lie detector and being asked very personal questions. Questions that only someone very close to them would think to ask. As I watched, people were willing to risk telling their deepest secrets in order to win money, even if to do so would hurt their wife or husband. They would confess to having affairs. They would confess to still being in love with their ex-boyfriends. You can see their spouses, and parents and friends react as the contestants confessed and the lie detector they were strapped to would verify their responses. Lives ruined. Secrets revealed, all for the sake of money.

Each contestant seemed to be willing to "bare it all." No amount of coercing from the host would make them quit. So, what happened? They each lost on the questions that seemed the easiest to answer. One girl was asked if she would pose nude in a magazine for $100,000.00. After thoughtful consideration, she said, "No," to which the lie detector said she was lying. She seemed shocked. Why? Who was she lying to? Herself? The one girl was asked if she'd ever used sex to advance her career as a model. She said, "No," and again lost all the money she'd gained after crushing her husband only moments before with her confessions. She risked her marriage, but lied about that?

I was left with the most provoking question that nagged me all night. What lies hurt us the most? Is it the ones we tell to others, or the ones we tell to ourselves? That's what shocked me most after watching the show. They all seem to know what was the truth about the lies they told to others, but didn't realize the ones they told themselves. Whether it was, "I've never compromised my integrity by using my sexuality to advance my career," or "I'd never compromise my integrity by posing nude," to "I think I'm a good person." Subconsciously, they must have known the truth, because the lie detector gave them away. (That is if you believe those things actually work.)

Perhaps the whole thing this show reveals is that it's easier to sacrifice others' feelings than it is to sacrifice the self-image we build for ourselves. So, then, what lies do you live with? What "image" do you give yourself? We count out the reasons we do things and justify them with our excuses. But, who can really judge us?

Before getting overloaded with guilt and introspection, which some of us are inclined to do, I want to balance the picture by saying this:

Paul, an apostle, wrote in I Corinthians 4:3-5
3) I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4) My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5) Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

I believe we do the best we can to live our lives according to what God shows us to do, but we should never be deceived into thinking that we will ever reach perfection. Only Jesus is perfection and will be the one to judge our lives. He works in us and through us to help us improve, and is He is the author and finisher of our faith. Just be careful not to fall into the trap of viewing others lives as so much lower than our own that we think it okay to point and laugh at them.