Throughout the Ladder
John Climacus discusses the logical progression from one vice to another. And so it is with the vice of
falsehood. It arises out of
undisciplined chatter, talkativeness and foolery. Falsehood, or lying, John states, is the destroyer of
charity and perjury is the denial of God himself. Thus, he tells us, we must not be fooled into thinking that
lying is a minor offense. In
reality, it is a sin "above all others."
The
effects of one who lies are not restricted to himself, but have the consequence
of leading others into sin.
Through their ability to deceive, and provoke laughter in doing so, they
often distract others from their spiritual pursuits and dry up their tears of
contrition. Therefore, John argues
that we should seek to separate ourselves from such people, or, when
appropriate and helpful, to offer fraternal correction with charity.
To
combat such a vice we must foster a genuine fear of the Lord and the judgement
He will bring. A strong and
well-formed conscience will serve us well in this task. Likewise, true compunction will aid us
in this struggle. Sorrow for one's
sins will destroy this vice.
1-2 Falsehood
defined: where it comes from and what it leads to in the spiritual life.
From
flint and steel comes fire; from chatter and joking comes lying. Lying is the destruction of charity,
and perjury the very denial of God.
No
sensible man imagines that lying is a minor failing. Indeed the All-Holy Spirit pronounced the most dreadful
sentence on this sin above all others; and if, as David says to God, "You
will destroy everyone speaking a lie" (Ps. 5:7), what will happen to those
who swear to their lies on oath?
3 How
one must respond to lying and liars.
I
have seen men, proud of their ability to lie, and exciting laughter by their
clowning and joking, who have miserably destroyed in their hearers the habit of
mourning. But when the demons
observe that we stay clear of the sallies of some outstanding wit, as though we
were avoiding the plague, they try to catch us with two seemingly plausible
thoughts, namely that we should not be offensive to the person telling the
witty story and we should not give the appearance of loving God more than he
does. Be off! Do not dawdle! Otherwise the jokes will start coming
back to you when you are at prayer.
But do not simply run away.
Break up the bad company in a devout way by setting before them the
thought of death and judgment . . .
.
4 The
Mother and cause of lying.
Hypocrisy
is the mother of lying and frequently its cause. Some would argue that hypocrisy is nothing other than a
meditation on falsehood, that it is the inventor of falsehood laced with lies.
5 What
makes one give up lying: the fear of God and a good conscience.
The
man gifted with fear of the Lord has given up lying, for within him he has
conscience, that incorruptible judge.
6 Various
forms of lying. Each harms in its
own way.
Various
kinds of harm can be observed in the passions, and lying is no exception. So one judgment awaits the man who lies
out of fear, another the liar who has nothing at all to worry about. One man lies for the sheer pleasure of
it, another for amusement, another to raise a laugh among bystanders, another to
trap his brother and do him harm.
7-8 Some
lies mask themselves as prudence and as serving the good. Admittedly, John states, there may be
some circumstances when one may resort to concealing the truth, but only when
there is no desire to do such a thing and when compelled by fear or
necessity. True innocence,
however, knows nothing of this vice.
Magistrates
can root out lying with tortures, though it is an abundance of tears that truly
destroys it. A man may lie on the
grounds of prudence, and indeed regards as an act of righteousness the actual
destruction of his own soul. The
inventor of lies declares that he is following the example of Rahab and
maintains that his own destruction is the cause of salvation for others.
Only
when we are completely free of the urge to lie may we resort to it, and then
only in fear and out of necessity.
A baby does not know how to lie, and neither does a soul cleansed of
evil.
9-10 One
who is honest with himself will be honest with others. Truth, John concludes, is the root of
all blessings. The more we tell
the truth the more pure our hearts become and the more surely and intimately do
we know God. "He who would
love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips
from speaking deceit" (1 Peter 3:10).
A
man drunk on wine unwittingly tells the truth about everything. And a man drunk with compunction cannot
lie.
This
is the twelfth step. The man who
has taken it has obtained the root of all blessings.
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