September 16, 2025 • 10 mins
In this powerful episode of Culture Raises Us, Marquita Moore of How I Grew Today returns to speak boldly about deception, integrity, and the cost of living with masks. In a culture that rewards false images, curated perfection, and quick wins, telling the truth isn’t just radical—it’s spiritual warfare.
Marquita breaks down how deception erodes not only the individual but also the lives of everyone connected to it, why truth must be seen as more than a moral value, and how integrity acts as a spiritual weapon that cuts through lies. Together, we explore what it means to resist the temptation of shortcuts, live by faith and not by sight, and build communities that honor authenticity over illusions.
This conversation is a reminder that living in truth may cost you comfort, approval, and even opportunities—but deception costs far more: your soul.
#CultureRaisesUs #MarquitaMoore #KeepingItReal #TruthOverDeception #WalkByFaith #FaithAndIntegrity #AuthenticityMatters #SpiritualGrowth #IntegrityAsWeapon #LiveInTruth
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Deception is everywhere in our culture, in our systems, in
a way people curate themselves online. I mean, we literally
live in a world where the mask is often celebrated
more than the truth behind it. But here's a question
we have to wrestle with. If deception has become the
currency of the culture, is your truth still worth the cost?
Marquita Moore of How I Grew Today is back to
(00:23):
talk about how in a world that thrives on false images,
empty promises, and curated perfection, telling the truth can feel
like rebellion. Why do you think deception seems to be
so heavily rewarded in the culture, whether it's in our business,
media or even our relationships.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
It looks like it pays it promises quick wins, the
fast money, the platform, the attention, get it quick and
there it looks like it's no consequence. But the minute
you buy into deception is the minute that things begin
to erode. You know what I mean? You know, I
(01:07):
think culture buys into illusion that if it entertains in itself,
but it erodes something. The person living by deceptive ways,
they are eroding themselves and the people they deal with
become collateral damage. You know what I mean, And depending
on where those people are, it can even rode their
(01:29):
way of life. It may feel like a shortcut in
the moment, but it's really slow destruction.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Slow destruction. You know. I remember a Tupac verse where
he said I'd rather die like a man than to
live like a coward, And it made me think about
how has you know, wearing this mask becomes so normalized
and what damage does that cause on both an individual
and society at large. Yeah, like.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Wearing a mask has become so normal, it's become I mean,
become more because image has is more important. It's become
like image is more important than the truth. And we've
been raised to protect perception over reality. Don't say that,
don't do that. You know how we learned that. Don't
(02:20):
say that outside you know what I mean, Like this
outside business. We've learned to hide and pretended to do
all these things. Like I remember growing up, it was
like keeping up with the Joneses, right, Like I had
to have this and had to have this, lived in
the Great House, but nobody knew that the lights went
(02:41):
off three days, you know what I mean? And so
but you go outside as if nothing's happening and you're
living all these you know, great this facade, and so
to be transparent and to be real into it is
like shame is associated with.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
That I've been saying recently. You know, reality is now
stranger than fiction, which is crazy, but we're in that time.
But then I also look back at the word and
I look at John eight thirty two. Yeah, and it
says then you will know the truth, and the truth
will set you free. And when I think about that scripture,
(03:25):
I ask, how can we have integrity become more than
just a personal value instead really be positioned as a
spiritual weapon.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Yeah, it is, it is. Integrity is a good trait,
but it is a weapon.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Truth doesn't just set you free, It cuts through deception
for everyone around. So it pierces through the piuse, it
binds it, you know what I mean, And truth frees you.
When I choose integrity as not just doing the right thing,
I'm actually fighting spirits, right, like I'm fighting spiritual ground
(04:02):
to take because every time I do something wrong in
the natural, I'm losing ground. We're losing ground spiritually, right.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
But that's the thing spiritually, but worldly it feels like
you're gaining.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Yeah, but like you just moving, you gain it, but
you're losing, You're backing away spiritually. Uh, that's at a cost.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
That cost. No, And it's funny because when it's not
really funny. But when thinking about circumstances, when you're trying
to lead with integrity, it feels like there's so much
more resistance m hm, so much more effort that needs
to be put in where there almost there has to
be this pendulum switch of you should feel the resistance
(04:44):
and the and the force against you when you're not moving. Yeah,
with integrity that should be uncomfortable.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yes, absolutely, But how do we get to that place?
I mean, how do you get how you encourage yourself
to stay in Yeah?
Speaker 1 (05:02):
I mean yeah, I think you know. It is about
encouraging yourself to stand firm and truth when deuction feels
so much easier, safer, or even more profitable. What are
things that we can do to stand firmer on that?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
What are the consequences? Are we paying attention to? What
the consequences are? We just moving through it? Like for me,
not wanting to live eternity where God is not present encouragement,
I mean, like, what's it? Deception? Make easier in the moment,
but it's too high of a price.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Tag man.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
I'd rather stand in truth now and no, I'm standing
with him forever than to compromise and lose that. Like
I've gotten to that place, I've taken shortcuts, I've done
the easy route, and it always it never blessed me.
What did what did Bibby say, blessed on? It never
did that. It looked like it did for a minute,
(05:58):
but it always came with a very bad consequence.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, and the whole fact of the life of eternity,
you know, it's I wan to church the other day
and the sermon was talking about looking to hear the
five words of well done, good faithful servant, right, and
it went into another piece of you know, having our
(06:24):
faith and what that means within that making those right
decisions based off of faith, but also in understanding with
faith that doesn't necessarily mean that the things that you
are praying for to have faith within are necessarily going
to happen, and if they don't happen, that means that
you're not faithful enough. It's more so a notion of well,
(06:45):
maybe that's not what was intended for you here in
the worldly sense. But when you come home eternal life,
loan eternal life, I will have an abundance of things
based off of your faith. So faith is not about
everything that you pray for and you put all the
faith in the world in happening, right, It's about the
(07:06):
discipline and the obedience of having faith throughout. Because again
we've talked many of times about you know, we think
we are doing all these things ourselves, right, we're putting
all these plans together, but it's really God is a
master architect. I always say that it's his plan, right,
and he's just using us as vessels. So in using
(07:27):
us as vessels, some of the things that we think
we are wanting to be faithful of and asking for
might not work with the bigger vision and plan that
has But that doesn't mean we're not gonna be faithful
right right.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
It's like we're asking for please, do have your way,
will in your way, do what you want to with
my life, but then asking for certain things and He's like,
wait a minute, that's way beneath what it is that
I want to bless you.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
That's part the beneath the bedieit.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
So are you going to trust and you want to
go where you want? What where you want me to
take you? Right? Like, it is more than what we
can see. And that's a real thing. And I am
realizing that a lot of people don't think so, a
lot of people don't don't understand what that means.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Right listen, you know, you know the basic saying that
I was raised, I got a tattooed on my body.
Walk by faith, yeah, not by sight, right, but again,
our human nature has us default to the by sight, yeah,
by site, right, by site. And so how do we
then create like communities, you know, faith based friendships, work
(08:43):
teams that build cultures that reward truth over deception.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
We as individuals you asked me, Marquito, to operate in
all the things it is that we want to see
or be a part of. We have to operate in it,
in it, and we have to be bold in the
expression of it. When truth isn't just talked about, but
we live in it, and it changes things. People start
(09:12):
to see that honesty that is coming from you and
that it doesn't make you weak, right, and they start
to see, oh man, it actually makes me trustworthy and
it's a good thing, you know, And it gets celebrated
instead of hidden, and that deception has no wom to
(09:36):
thrive and that type of environment.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
You know, Listen, living in truth will will cost you opportunities, approval,
and comfort, but deception will cost you way more, your identity,
your soul. So I say ask yourself this week, everyone,
(10:00):
where in my life have I been tempted to wear
the mask? Where do I need to strip it off
and stand in truth? Even if it cost me? The
world definitely doesn't need more perfectly packaged lives. It means
the power of your authentic, authentic truth. Marquita, you again,
(10:22):
thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
All right,
Deception is everywhere in our culture, in our systems, in
a way people curate themselves online. I mean, we literally
live in a world where the mask is often celebrated
more than the truth behind it. But here's a question
we have to wrestle with. If deception has become the
currency of the culture, is your truth still worth the cost?
Marquita Moore of How I Grew Today is back to
(00:23):
talk about how in a world that thrives on false images,
empty promises, and curated perfection, telling the truth can feel
like rebellion. Why do you think deception seems to be
so heavily rewarded in the culture, whether it's in our business,
media or even our relationships.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
It looks like it pays it promises quick wins, the
fast money, the platform, the attention, get it quick and
there it looks like it's no consequence. But the minute
you buy into deception is the minute that things begin
to erode. You know what I mean? You know, I
(01:07):
think culture buys into illusion that if it entertains in itself,
but it erodes something. The person living by deceptive ways,
they are eroding themselves and the people they deal with
become collateral damage. You know what I mean, And depending
on where those people are, it can even rode their
(01:29):
way of life. It may feel like a shortcut in
the moment, but it's really slow destruction.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Slow destruction. You know. I remember a Tupac verse where
he said I'd rather die like a man than to
live like a coward, And it made me think about
how has you know, wearing this mask becomes so normalized
and what damage does that cause on both an individual
and society at large. Yeah, like.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
Wearing a mask has become so normal, it's become I mean,
become more because image has is more important. It's become
like image is more important than the truth. And we've
been raised to protect perception over reality. Don't say that,
don't do that. You know how we learned that. Don't
(02:20):
say that outside you know what I mean, Like this
outside business. We've learned to hide and pretended to do
all these things. Like I remember growing up, it was
like keeping up with the Joneses, right, Like I had
to have this and had to have this, lived in
the Great House, but nobody knew that the lights went
(02:41):
off three days, you know what I mean? And so
but you go outside as if nothing's happening and you're
living all these you know, great this facade, and so
to be transparent and to be real into it is
like shame is associated with.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
That I've been saying recently. You know, reality is now
stranger than fiction, which is crazy, but we're in that time.
But then I also look back at the word and
I look at John eight thirty two. Yeah, and it
says then you will know the truth, and the truth
will set you free. And when I think about that scripture,
(03:25):
I ask, how can we have integrity become more than
just a personal value instead really be positioned as a
spiritual weapon.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
Yeah, it is, it is. Integrity is a good trait,
but it is a weapon.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
You know.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Truth doesn't just set you free, It cuts through deception
for everyone around. So it pierces through the piuse, it
binds it, you know what I mean, And truth frees you.
When I choose integrity as not just doing the right thing,
I'm actually fighting spirits, right, like I'm fighting spiritual ground
(04:02):
to take because every time I do something wrong in
the natural, I'm losing ground. We're losing ground spiritually, right.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
But that's the thing spiritually, but worldly it feels like
you're gaining.
Speaker 2 (04:14):
Yeah, but like you just moving, you gain it, but
you're losing, You're backing away spiritually. Uh, that's at a cost.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
That cost. No, And it's funny because when it's not
really funny. But when thinking about circumstances, when you're trying
to lead with integrity, it feels like there's so much
more resistance m hm, so much more effort that needs
to be put in where there almost there has to
be this pendulum switch of you should feel the resistance
(04:44):
and the and the force against you when you're not moving. Yeah,
with integrity that should be uncomfortable.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
Yes, absolutely, But how do we get to that place?
I mean, how do you get how you encourage yourself
to stay in Yeah?
Speaker 1 (05:02):
I mean yeah, I think you know. It is about
encouraging yourself to stand firm and truth when deuction feels
so much easier, safer, or even more profitable. What are
things that we can do to stand firmer on that?
Speaker 2 (05:16):
What are the consequences? Are we paying attention to? What
the consequences are? We just moving through it? Like for me,
not wanting to live eternity where God is not present encouragement,
I mean, like, what's it? Deception? Make easier in the moment,
but it's too high of a price.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Tag man.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
I'd rather stand in truth now and no, I'm standing
with him forever than to compromise and lose that. Like
I've gotten to that place, I've taken shortcuts, I've done
the easy route, and it always it never blessed me.
What did what did Bibby say, blessed on? It never
did that. It looked like it did for a minute,
(05:58):
but it always came with a very bad consequence.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, and the whole fact of the life of eternity,
you know, it's I wan to church the other day
and the sermon was talking about looking to hear the
five words of well done, good faithful servant, right, and
it went into another piece of you know, having our
(06:24):
faith and what that means within that making those right
decisions based off of faith, but also in understanding with
faith that doesn't necessarily mean that the things that you
are praying for to have faith within are necessarily going
to happen, and if they don't happen, that means that
you're not faithful enough. It's more so a notion of well,
(06:45):
maybe that's not what was intended for you here in
the worldly sense. But when you come home eternal life,
loan eternal life, I will have an abundance of things
based off of your faith. So faith is not about
everything that you pray for and you put all the
faith in the world in happening, right, It's about the
(07:06):
discipline and the obedience of having faith throughout. Because again
we've talked many of times about you know, we think
we are doing all these things ourselves, right, we're putting
all these plans together, but it's really God is a
master architect. I always say that it's his plan, right,
and he's just using us as vessels. So in using
(07:27):
us as vessels, some of the things that we think
we are wanting to be faithful of and asking for
might not work with the bigger vision and plan that
has But that doesn't mean we're not gonna be faithful
right right.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
It's like we're asking for please, do have your way,
will in your way, do what you want to with
my life, but then asking for certain things and He's like,
wait a minute, that's way beneath what it is that
I want to bless you.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
That's part the beneath the bedieit.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
So are you going to trust and you want to
go where you want? What where you want me to
take you? Right? Like, it is more than what we
can see. And that's a real thing. And I am
realizing that a lot of people don't think so, a
lot of people don't don't understand what that means.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Right listen, you know, you know the basic saying that
I was raised, I got a tattooed on my body.
Walk by faith, yeah, not by sight, right, but again,
our human nature has us default to the by sight, yeah,
by site, right, by site. And so how do we
then create like communities, you know, faith based friendships, work
(08:43):
teams that build cultures that reward truth over deception.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
We as individuals you asked me, Marquito, to operate in
all the things it is that we want to see
or be a part of. We have to operate in it,
in it, and we have to be bold in the
expression of it. When truth isn't just talked about, but
we live in it, and it changes things. People start
(09:12):
to see that honesty that is coming from you and
that it doesn't make you weak, right, and they start
to see, oh man, it actually makes me trustworthy and
it's a good thing, you know, And it gets celebrated
instead of hidden, and that deception has no wom to
(09:36):
thrive and that type of environment.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
You know, Listen, living in truth will will cost you opportunities, approval,
and comfort, but deception will cost you way more, your identity,
your soul. So I say ask yourself this week, everyone,
(10:00):
where in my life have I been tempted to wear
the mask? Where do I need to strip it off
and stand in truth? Even if it cost me? The
world definitely doesn't need more perfectly packaged lives. It means
the power of your authentic, authentic truth. Marquita, you again,
(10:22):
thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
All right,
Host
Astor Chamber
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!