"Not doing the truth"

As I've said before, we are translating 1 John 1-3 in Greek. Verse 6 in chapter 1 uses an interesting form of the Greek verb ποιέω. A general-use translation of this verb is "I do" or "I make." But here is how it is used in verse 6:

Εαν ειπωμεν οτι κοινωνιαν εχομεν μετ αυτου και εν τω σκοτια περιπατωμεν, ψευδομεθα και ου ποιουμεν την αληθειαν·

(I intentionally left out all accents and breathing marks - they're too hard in this font.)
The straight translation is this:

If - we say - that - fellowship - we have - with - him - and - in - the - darkness - we live, - we are lying - and - not - we do - the - truth.

Or, maybe something like this:

If we say that we have fellowship with him (referring to Jesus) and yet we live in the darkness, we are lying and we are not doing the truth.

What an interesting way to say this! If we claim that we have fellowship or community with Jesus, and yet we continue to walk in the darkness, we are actually lying and not doing the truth. My BDAG lexicon has about 2 1/2 pages about ποιέω - it's actually a quite popular verb. Mounce says it's used 568 times! The generalized definition for ποιέω in BDAG says this:

A multivalent term, often without pointed semantic significance, used in reference to a broad range of activity involving such matters as bringing something into being, bringing something to pass, or simply interacting in some way with a variety of entities.

The specific BDAG reference to 1 John 1:6 says "do, practice, live the truth."

So, if we claim to follow Jesus but live a life that does not reflect that following, we're lying to ourselves and those around us, and we are not living truthful lives. We are not bringing about the truth of Jesus. We are, in a way, holding back the truth. We are not "doing" the truth.