What Micheal Jackson Taught Me

I am not a huge fan of the music of Michael Jackson. Shocking I know!! I must be the only person on the planet, right?! Its not that I dislike it, some of his songs are awesome and without a doubt among the best ever written but I just don’t connect with it. Take Billie Jean for instance, good song but I have never really understood it. Just doesn’t seem to be a song sung from real experience, until later on in his life that is. But I like the melody and the uniqueness of it. I have never really listened to the words though. It’s funny how when you become used to a song in the way it sounds that its meaning is sometimes lost.

I recently start heard a cover version of Billie Jean. Usually I hate covers on principle (yes I am sad and have issues.) A folk band called, The Civil Wars, did this particular version. Its amazing!! When you first hear it you think, “I know this song,” but its only a way into that you realize that it’s Billie Jean. Hearing the song in a different way made me actually listen and take in the words. I heard the story the song tells and was struck by one line that I have never heard before and to be honest it’s the focal point of the song.

“And Be Careful Of What You Do 'Cause The Lie Becomes The Truth.”

Seeing things for another perspective is uncomfortable. Its because when we have to it generally means that we are about to be challenged to change.
The lie becomes the truth. That’s actually a quote Michael Jackson cleverly took from Vladimir Lenin, a Russian Communist revolutionary and the father of the Soviet Union. A man who lived the lie he made others believe and it did become in fact become the truth and still impacts the world.
The principle is true. The lie does become the truth. The more we lie to ourselves about the wrongs that we justify as being okay, the more they take control over our lives and become the reality (truth about us) that we live in.

There is another perspective that we need to see though. Jesus said this, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” The truth that God has much more love for us than we can ever imagine and his perspective is the real truth that we should be living in because it is what brings freedom. That’s uncomfortable for me. It means changing and being willing to change.

The lie becomes the truth. The same can be said of the truth. Truth often repeated becomes the truth. Its about training ourselves to allow the truth is set us free.