In the Bible, Jesus told those who were learning from him, if they continued to learn and live by what he taught and demonstrated, they would “know the truth and the truth would make them free.” (John 8:32) Some of them claimed that they were already free, and others just listened and learned. When I think of honesty, truth, and lies, I think of honesty as something you tell, truth as something you know, and lies as something you tell in order to twist the truth and deceive. I find it easier to be honest and not know the truth than it is to know the truth and be honest, as they say, “ignorance is bliss.”
To seek to know the truth means that we must examine what we believed to be true and honest and accept new truths as we discover them. When we discover new truths about ourselves or the world, sometimes it is just easier to say nothing about them and let the old truths, which we now discover to be untrue, remain in place. When you are confronted with truth, you always have the option to be honest and accept it, along with the consequences of knowing it, or you can say to yourself or others that it is better to live as if we never knew it.
There were times I did not know the truth about myself but thought I did. Consequently, I lived with confidence in my understanding of what I believed to be true. I have also known the truth and thought it safer to tell a lie rather than the truth. I have known the truth, told myself the truth, but thought it safer not to tell the truth under the guise that I was protecting others from the truth. Sometimes confidentiality is required to protect others, or even yourself, but that level of confidentiality and truth is not easily reached or achieved. Being disciplined for success allows you to lose the weight of dishonesty and soar to freedom. It is acquired by the discipline of self-examination, rigorous honesty with yourself, God, and to whomever it is wise or expedient.