“Liar, Liar. . .Pants on Fire”

 “Deceiver, dissembler, your trousers are alight; from what pole or gallows shall they dangle in the night?  When I asked of your career, why did you have to kick my rear with that stinking lie of thine, proclaiming that you owned a mine?  When you asked to borrow my stallion to visit a nearby-moored galleon, how could I have ever known that you intended only to turn him into glue?  

        What red devil of mendacity grips your soul with such tenacity?  Will one you cruelly shower with lies, put a pistol ball between your eyes?  What infernal serpent has lent you his forked tongue?  From what pit of foul deceit are all these whoppers sprung?  Deceiver, dissembler, your trousers are alight;  from what pole or gallows  do they dangle in the night?  The Liar, William Blake   

We have this poem on the wall right next to “before and after” pictures of Pinnochio.  The sheep have to pass by them as they come into the meetings.  Pretty tough truth to swallow, unless you have the stomachs for it (sheep have a four-chambered stomach which enables them to ruminate.  .  . fully consider and digest what they eat).  My Lily has said many times that this room gets filled up each week with a peculiar flock of fabricating, prevaricating fibbers.  Recovering liars.  Not so coincidentally, lying seems to be a  major topic of discussion in the news recently.  Those in attendance today know that lying has been around since the days of the Garden of Eden, when the serpent lied to Adam and Eve.  .  .and lying entered into their heart and they became liars.  .  .and they lied to God.  .  .and lying has been with us ever since.

             “Man is estranged from the womb:  he goes astray as soon as he is born, speaking lies.  .  .they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.  .  .we have made lies our refuge and under falsehood we have hid ourselves.  .  .none pleads for the truth:  they trust in vanity and speak lies.  .  .they have taught their tongue to speak lies,”

Pretty bleak assessment of mankind, right from the Mouth of God, Himself.  The verses above are from the Old Testament and the word “lies” has a Hebrew origin.  It means, “falsehood;  deceitful;  liar;  fail;  be in vain (to speak without real profitability) ; estranged (separated) from the real truth”.  The definition is offensive to most people.  We judge ourselves, in part, by comparing ourselves to others, like the Pharisee (who was secretly a total liar) in the Gospels, when he said, “Thank you Lord that I am not like that Publican, whose lies are apparent to all.”  Speaking of public liars, one of the newbie sheep at the meeting has tears running down his face and he’s coming up to the front of the room to speak. His name is “The Little Pine One (the real meaning of the Italian name, Pinnochio).

“Until that Moment, when He called me by my new name, I was senseless and dull, hardened like petrified wood, with no real Sap running through my veins.  I had a heart of wood and even though I was living like a real person,  I wasn’t Alive with a Real Heart.  And as you all know, my wooden heart was filled with lies.  And it always became obvious to others and to myself.  Then I said to my Maker, “I feel naked and exposed, filled with guilt and shame.   .   . and unworthy to be your child.”  Then He Kissed me on the forehead and sat me down on His lap.  .  .and told me this story.

     “The Pharisees brought a woman to me who was a notorious sinner and liar.  They said that she was caught red-handed and that the law demanded that she be stoned to death for her offense.  I stooped down and wrote something in the ground with my finger and then stood up and said to them, ‘He that is without sins and lies, let him cast the first stone at her.’ Then I stooped down again and picked up a white stone and wrote something on it.  And those who heard Me were convicted in their own conscience and left, one by one, dropping their stones on the ground.  Then I said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Is there no one left to condemn you?  She said to me, ‘No man, Lord.’  And I said to her, ‘Neither do I’, and I handed her the white stone with her new name on it, and I said  ‘Go, my Little Pine One.”

Then He told me that my name Pine means, “Richness;  anointing (filled with God’s own Life);  Fruitful;  to Shine;  Wisdom and Strength;  a child of the Creator of the  Universe;  a lamb of His flock.”  A Real person with a Real Heart and Soul.  Divine Sap flowing like a River through my veins, running through my heart, bearing the Fruit of Love, Joy Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Self-control, Faith, Forgiveness and Power.  A wooden heart replaced with a Heart full of Life and Love.  The very Heart of Geppetto, my Maker.  .  .the Lord of lords and King of kings.

         “A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away your heart of wood and give you My Own Heart .   .   .to him that I Enable to overcome, will I give to him a white stone and in the stone a new name written. . .” Ezekiel 36:26;  Revelation 2:17

A New Heart for all the Pinnochio sheep.  A Divine Heart.  A White Stone for all lying lambs.  The evidence of the Judge’s verdict of “not guilty”.  The Name ‘Jesus’ Imprinted in their soul.  Adopted by the Creator of the Universe.  Sons and daughters of the King.

Freely given.           Freely Received.          Free, Little Pine Ones