Archive for November, 2011

Rings a familiar sound? Well it used  to be used more often than it is now. Today you may only hear that whole line if you were in a court room , and you were facing a trial, or were giving evidence in a court case. But  in past  days ,  this was the way of ensuring that the person on trial was telling the truth …and the whole truth. In earlier times there was an additional phrase added ….So Help me God!, which in many court rooms has been deleted……and this is what I want to talk about today.

I have often wondered what the “So Help me God” really meant. I could certainly understand that term, if it were used before setting out on the high seas in a small boat….but in a court room ???.

Are you extolling God to allow you to tell the truth…..or  asking him to remind you of the dire consequences if you fail to tell the truth ?.

One thing I know for sure  is that fewer people today tell the truth. Few people have any concept that the whole truth and nothing but the truth is a cornerstone of a persons persona or a persons character.

To tell the truth unto death means that they will tell the truth for a lifetime , and if need be… in the face of death. Today there are many  facing death by extremists for telling the truth, or living by a faith that threatens those that keep them in captivity.

I think we would all struggle in the face of death or torture to tell the truth, if it meant losing our lives, but I firmly believe telling the truth is such an important  part of living on this planet in harmony , that it has to be right up there …..and I meant the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

I was brought up in the early 50′s in a strict but loving family.

I cannot remember all the details  …I was too young ( there was about a ten year age difference between me and my two brothers) but I always remember  a wide leather strap was positioned at the dinner table….and it was always nearer to my fathers hand then mine.

I remember him as a fair and loving father, but I also knew that he  stood for no nonsense…and my mother often reminded me that dad was biking home from work (times were hard then….one speed bikes were the norm) and that the strap would be on the table waiting for him ( and me).

So in that atmosphere, discipline was  a lot different than it is today.

We had table manners, always said please and thank you , always added Mum and Dad to every sentence, never spoke until you were spoken too, never fought , argued or showed decent                   ( especially at the  meal table.) Swearing and blasphemy at any time was a fate punishible by death ( well we never did it to test the system!) .

And telling the truth and every part there of , was not just an added extra, it was something drilled into us from a very early age. It was a core component in our character and has served us well ever since.

Some might say is it right to have lived in fear from an early age? Well I did add that we were raised by loving parents in a loving home.

I despair   that so many people today  do not tell the truth, or only tell half the truth. And the sad thing that many do not know when they are telling the truth and when they are not.

For young people it is a subject they are not taught at school, and it is something that is inbred inter-generational. If parents and grandparents  were born liars….they hardly are likely to pass on to their siblings that lying is unacceptable.

And for me there is a fear of God, because I know how much God hates lying.

So next time you are tempted to lie….promise yourself to Tell The Truth , the Whole Truth and if necessary ask God to ensure you do.

I will talk again soon.

Lindsay Walker

Friday 25th November 2011.