[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-real-deal":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-real-deal-surround":90},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":15,"columnName":73,"date":74,"description":21,"extension":75,"image":76,"meta":77,"minRead":78,"navigation":79,"path":80,"postType":81,"publication":82,"publicationUrl":76,"seo":83,"stem":84,"topics":85,"__hash__":89},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-real-deal.md","The Real Deal",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12,13,14],"Proverbs","Luke","John","1 Corinthians","Titus","James",{"type":16,"value":17,"toc":69},"minimark",[18,22,30,33,36,39,42,45,48,51,54,57,60,63,66],[19,20,21],"p",{},"America has a serious case of truth decay.",[19,23,24,25,29],{},"Listen to children at play. They have already lived long enough to question one another’s credibility. They ask, “For ",[26,27,28],"em",{},"real","?”",[19,31,32],{},"Listen to politicians debate. Skilled in spinning information, they don’t “lie,” they employ what Winston Churchill cleverly called “terminological inexactitude.”",[19,34,35],{},"Listen to yourself. Do you ever promise something you won’t actually deliver? Nod agreeably when a person you want to impress offers an opinion you don’t really share? Sing a song in church whose words you don’t really mean? End a slightly insincere letter with “Sincerely”?",[19,37,38],{},"Look at the polls. According to a 2007 Junior Achievement\u002FDeloitte Teen Ethics Survey, 38 percent of America’s teenagers believe it is sometimes necessary to cheat, plagiarize, and lie in order to succeed; and nearly one-quarter (24 percent) think cheating on a test is acceptable on some level.",[19,40,41],{},"“Buy truth and do not sell it,” Solomon advised (Proverbs 23:23), because unlike other commodities truth never grows old, never wears out, never goes out of style. The trouble is, it’s hard to exhale truth when we’ve inhaled so deeply from a cultural atmosphere polluted by rationalization, relativism, and outright deception.",[19,43,44],{},"We think, “If I tell the truth I’ll get in trouble,” but Jesus says, “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32).",[19,46,47],{},"We assume, “A little white lie is no big deal,” but Jesus says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” (Luke 16:10).",[19,49,50],{},"We shrug off truth as an abstract philosophical concept, but Jesus makes it personal, insisting, “I am the truth” (John 14:6).",[19,52,53],{},"Oddly enough, even those who deny the existence of truth cry out for it every day. “Be real,” they insist. “Be authentic.” And if anyone should heed their plea, it’s those who profess to serve the God of truth who “does not lie” (Titus 1:2). Jesus prayed for his followers and said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). “Walking in the truth” should be the norm for a Christ-follower (3 John 4).",[19,55,56],{},"We need to be honest about our own strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. The book of James warns about self-deception (1:22, 26) because it’s all too easy to gloss over our own goof-ups and mess-ups.",[19,58,59],{},"We need to be real in our homes. How many boys and girls have been disillusioned and disappointed because they witnessed so much hypocrisy in their parents? How many marriages have been ripped apart by lies?",[19,61,62],{},"We need to be real with the Lord. No boasting to make ourselves look better than we are. No pretentious prayers, as if sheep could pull the wool over the eyes of the Good Shepherd.",[19,64,65],{},"We need to be real in our churches. The apostle Paul says that when God’s Word is clearly proclaimed—even in the presence of an unbeliever or someone who does not understand—“the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!’” (1 Corinthians 14:24-25). Who could resist the tug of the Holy Spirit in a setting where the secrets of our hearts are laid bare? Where love is a verb, not merely a noun? Where leaders project humble authenticity not only from the pulpit but in their ordinary conversation as well? Where grace, sincerity, and healthy accountability fill the air?",[19,67,68],{},"Seekers desperate for truth are asking, “Are you for real?” By word and deed, the Christian’s unflinching answer must always be “yes.”",{"title":70,"searchDepth":71,"depth":71,"links":72},"",2,[],"Another Look","2010-01-24","md",null,{},3,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-real-deal","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":21},"articles\u002Fthe-real-deal",[86,87,88],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Intergenerational Ministry","YJv1zF-xziijSIzO_zcbG4i4CWk9ybWXJ8DsnXLfMF8",[91,96],{"title":92,"path":93,"stem":94,"description":95,"children":-1},"The Problem with 'Starter Marriages'","\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-problem-with-starter-marriages","articles\u002Fthe-problem-with-starter-marriages","Americans spend about $38 billion per year on weddings. But are they getting what they pay for?",{"title":97,"path":98,"stem":99,"description":100,"children":-1},"The Real Heroes","\u002Farticles\u002Fthe-real-heroes","articles\u002Fthe-real-heroes","You and I probably would have chosen Eliab. His name doesn't ring a bell? Let me refresh your memory. Eliab was a tall, impressive-looking fellow, born and raised in a good family. When Jesse's sons paraded past Samuel, Eliab was the one who caught the prophet's eye. \"Surely the Lord's anointed stands here,\" Samuel thought. But instead, God saw a king in a young shepherd with a servant's heart who skipped the parade because he was out in the field watching the family's sheep."]