Genesis 18:1-15: Dissembling
Monday, September 1, 2025
Because she was afraid, Sarah dissembled, saying, “I didn’t laugh”. But he said, “Yes you did.” It seems that when we are afraid, or even uncomfortable, we hide. Perhaps we want to protect ourselves from unwanted criticism at a time when we feel vulnerable. Society would benefit from our willingness to put aside fear in order to practice honesty. Our families would flourish if we might find a way to establish trust in order that we become less defensive. Our work and play communities would prosper if we were free of ridicule. Putting aside fear so that we might live a life of authenticity is what God asks us to do. We all fail at this constantly – and this is something that God knows well.
Fear has been with us since our genesis as humans; it is not an aberration that arises after eons of human evolution. Nor is it a modern phenomenon brought on by rapid change or sudden advances in technology. Fear must have been with the first humans who hunted and gathered food and sought shelter. Dissembling was likely a defense against isolation or separation from the tribe, a strategy for survival. Is it a tool we want to use today? Do we need to shave edges from truth? Do we need to shape the opinion of those around us? Are we willing to go to God and ask that we begin again – in total honesty – without dissembling?
It is good to remind ourselves that God is quick to pardon when we ask forgiveness, and that God has infinite mercy for us. We know that all God asks is our gratitude and our willingness to do as he asks. God constantly assures us that we are loved – and God asks for our love in return. We need not fear. We need not dissemble. And we need not nurture this dissembling in ourselves or others. When we are fearful, we know what we must do.
From today’s MAGNIFICAT Morning Prayer (Cameron 129-130)
Jonah 2:3: Out of my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
Isaiah 43:12: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine. When you pass through the water, I will be with you; in the rivers you shall not drown. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned; the flames shall not consume you.
And so we pray . . .
When we feel fear begin to consume us, rather than dissemble and begin to weave a complicated web, we must call on God to bolster us in the truth.
When we are tempted to mislead others, rather than add to the illusion, we must ask God to help us to be honest and authentic.
When we come upon a rat’s nest of lies and deceit, rather than turn away with blank face and trembling heart, we must rely on God to help us witness to what we know to be truth.
Good and honest God, you have allowed us to choose if and how we are to follow you. Guide us to see through the clever tricks of the expert weavers of lies and lead us to be merciful with those who dissemble out of fear. Protect us as we mark a straight path to you with the signs of our little and big sufferings. Lead us out of the maze of confusing dissembled responses others give to us. Give us the courage to speak candidly, to act compassionately, and to love into goodness those who would harm us with their dissembling words. We ask this of you who has created us, you who has shown us the way of authenticity, and you who abides within us always. Amen.
Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Morning.” MAGNIFICAT. 13.6 (2011): 129-130. Print.
Image from: http://listverse.com/2007/08/20/top-10-bizarre-phobias/
A re-post from August 10, 2011.
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