And the Truth. . .

. . . "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free" . . . "Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not continue in the house forever; the son continues forever." John 8:31-32, 34-35

The choice is to know the truth and be free, or to sin and be a slave. It may seem obvious, but what is so good about truth and freedom, and why do we seek it, and what is so bad about sinning and slavery, and why should we avoid it? 

What is the good feels good, right, perhaps soothing? What is bad feels bad, uncomfortable, and/or perhaps . . . prickly. . .

  'Devil's Tongue', Prickly Pear(Opuntia humifusa)

Soothe is from Old English soðian (sothian)"show to be true", from, soð (soth) "true, genuine, real; just, righteous". In this respect, hearing the truth should be comforting, and hearing lies should sting. However, sometimes hearing the truth feels bad in the moment, and hearing lies can feel good as well, but lies are cold comfort, and change (from a state of imperfection to perfection) is what brings about true peace.    

Prickle is from Old English pricel "thing to prick with, goad, point". When things are prickly we tend to stay away from them. But we have to recognize them as being prickly fist. This probably only happens after some experience with being hurt or made to be uncomfortable by something prickly. I like to say that word, "prickly", its fun. Getting a hand full of cactus spines. . . not fun.

  The Torment of St. Anthony, Michaeangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni,c. 1487-1564

Stimulation (n.) is the "act of pricking or stirring to action", from Latin stimulationum (nominative stimulate) "an incitement". When we feel the sting of sin we are stimulated to avoid that sin. But sometimes its hard to stay away from sin, even so, and we pay over and over, choosing momentary pleasure and instant gratification, and we pay the price later. Perhaps we even fool ourselves saying things to ourselves like, "I won't get so stuffed that I feel sick and disgusted with myself after (insert holiday) dinner (or otherwise), or I'm not going to get so drunk that I feel deathly ill and have a massive hangover after my good friend's (or not so good friend's) wedding. . . this time. In any case, we may want to avoid the discomfort caused by the excess, but then cross the line accidentally. Nevertheless, can't this, then, cause one to try to do better the next time and to grow in maturity? 

And what is sin? Is it a particular act, or only an act which causes regret or suffering?

One word for sin in Hebrew is chataah "sin, sin offering".

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin (chataah) is covered. . . When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. Psalm 32:1, 3

Another word for sin is shagag " to go astray, commit sin or error". So to sin in this sense is to err.

Before I was afflicted I went astray (shagag, "I sinned"), but now I obey your word. Psalm 119:67

Sin is the cause of discomfort. When actions do not cause discomfort, are they, then, sin? It seems that it is the consequence of the sin itself that produces discomfort. However, discomfort isn't always a bad thing if it stimulates one toward the good and truth. So how should we view sin? Should we be so ashamed of having sinned that we do not act because we fear sinning and, thus, we fail to learn and truly become free from sin? In the story of the prodigal son, the prodigal son goes astray and his discomfort causes him to return to his father. 

How many of my fathers hired servants have enough bread and to spare, but I perish here with hunger! Luke 15:17

In addition, ones discomfort is not always a sign of his or her own sin, for we say that Jesus was without sin, yet he suffered greatly. So it is possible to suffer the sin of the world, rather than ones own personal sin. But then, how does a person know if their discomfort is caused by their own sin? And, furthermore, can we judge another in this respect? No. It seems to come down to personal conscience. 

For when the Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law are a law unto themselves. In that they show the work of the Law is written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. Romans 2:14-16

    Jesus Cleansing the Leper - Jean-Marie Melchior Doze, 1864

And not everyone seems to learn from his or her own sin. They may feel bad, i.e., the consequence, but also feel helpless to change. They simply cannot ever seem to win a victory over their unhealthy desires which rule their lives. In this case, they are slaves to sin. Some blame the Devil. The Devil made them do it, or perhaps Satan. . . Could it be?

Satan is from Hebew satan "adversary, one who plots against another".
If only there was a way to free oneself from the clutch of this adversary; this supernatural plotter of evil and ruin.

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do- this I keep on doing Romans. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with we. Romans 7:18-21

    Satan- The Adversary

But it is the truth that makes us free from sin. So, the truth is a cure for sin. If one has the truth he or she is not a slave to sin. Wouldn't it follow that if you are or identify as a sinner, then, you do not have the whole truth? Or, at least, you have not really heard it to the point of intimate understanding. 

In them is fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah: "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. Mt. 13:14

Maat was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth. She set order out of chaos at the moment of creation. And at death the heart of the deceased was weighed against the lightness of the feather of Maat. Those whose hearts were found to be heavier than the feather of Maat were devoured by the waiting lion / hippopotamus / crocodile demon, Ammit, meaning "devourer", "soul eater"; the "Devourer of the Dead", and "Eater of Hearts", and had to remain in the underworld apart from paradise, the Aaru, i.e., "reed" fields.

[and isn't it interesting that emet, which sounds like Ammit, means "truth" in Hebrew? So is it the truth with is ultimately the devourer of the heart?]

    Maat Wearing Feather of Truth

It would seem that living in the truth should create a certain lightness of being. True is ultimately said to be from root *deru- / *drew- "be firm, solid, steadfast", like a tree. Tree is from PIE root *drew-o-, from deru- "oak". Feathers are not strong and trees are not light. How, then, is the truth solid yet light?

Jesus was no Goliath, some argue that he was, in fact, small in stature, however, Jesus claimed to be THE truth (John 14:6). God often works in this way; showing that his chosen, whom are the greatest, appear to be the least, or the most humble.

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his hight, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

So, the strength of the heart is not necessarily shown through outward appearance, or the flesh, not unlike the feather of Maat. The strength of truth has to do with the durability of the heart. The heart of truth is light in weight, but strong, and, maybe, also it is light, as in bright, like the light of dawn. Truth is light like the birds which fly high in the heavens with their lightness (feathers), but the truth is also very strong, like the strength of the strongest tree, in spirit; durable (deru-ble), as the mighty oak. 

And feeling discomfort is not necessarily a sign of weakness, the people of the highest purity are going to be the ones who are most sensitive to discomfort of sin. They are more finely tuned and honed into the vibration of the truth.

    The Princess and The Pea, by Chetkova

Therefore, shouldn't we, who have the truth, take confidence in the truth, having lightness of heart, and let our light shine out of the darkness like we know what we're doing, and know who we are? Own it! Show the strength of your truth, or you prove you are nothing more than a slave and the truth is not in you. . . you are still a slave. . . though Christ has already ransomed you.

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.  Romans 6:6

Maybe you'll look a little awkward at times until you get really good at it. That's OK.

I don't mind if you don't mind, 'cuz I don't shine if you don't shine.