The first lie

Every notable historical era will have its own Faust, wrote Kierkegaard.

Selling our Soul to a demon called Mephistopheles to achieve some short-term desire is the way of humans.

Be that power, beauty, fame, love, money, success…

At some stage, we all come face to face with our own version of Mephistopheles. Like all sneaky demons, the initial temptation is so minute it appears harmless.

The first lie. The first deception.The first seduction. The first time we said it was OK to do this.

The Biblical story of Christ in the desert being tempted with comforts to assuage his suffering is the metaphor of Faust.

Do we have the courage, the resilience to say no? The ingrained integrity to hold out for what is on the other side of a denied temptation?

To clean out our own inner house, to restore our integrity, is to admit the lie, stand up for truth, say NO to wrongs done by our politicians and leaders who have built a path to power on deception, with our permission, when we know full well their promises are empty, their words silk spun lies.

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?”

August 22nd 2018

Photo Taken December 10th 2017