Lies  

Ladies and gentlemen, hobos and tramps, cross-eyed mosquitoes and bowlegged ants.  I come before you to stand behind you, to tell you something I know nothing about.  This Thursday which is special Friday, the mens club is having a meeting, ladies only, get in free pay at the door, have a seat and sit on the floor. One sunny day in the middle of the night two dead boys rose to fight. Back to back they faced each other, drew their swords and shot one another. A deaf policeman heard the noise, and saved the lives of the two dead boys. If you don't believe this lie is true, ask the blind man, he saw it too. ~Author Unknown

I know this is weird but the first time I heard this quote was from my husband.  The thing is he can quote it word for word.  One evening we had gone to dinner and we were walking through our back yard when out of the blue he quoted this.  Of course he quoted it so fast that I had to have him repeat it several times to understand the true irony and contradiction of it. 

I asked him where he learned it and he said “I don’t know, I used to say it as a kid.”  He said he was in fourth grade and didn’t have anything else taking up space up there and he also said with all his education this is one of the few things he remembered.  Of course he was kidding because he is really very intelligent or as I say, he has smarts. 

Even in the absurdity of this quote you can see shades of how we live in this world.  We lie when the truth would sound better.  We create an illusion of ourselves that others see when in reality we are falling apart inside.  I can remember my grandfather saying that in his day you made an agreement with someone over a handshake.  Now you need a contract that covers all the bases just in case someone doesn’t follow through with what they say they will do. We actually expect people to lie and disappoint us because it has become a common practice.

The Lord tells us that he wants us to stand by what we say we will do.  He also warns us not to promise something unless we truly plan to follow through because he detests lying lips.  The thing is most of us lie without even realizing it.  You know how you get invited to something and instead of saying you really don’t want to go, you tell someone you have other plans.  You think it somehow sounds nicer than telling the truth. The problem is once you start telling small lies it gets easier to continue until you are lying over big things.  Then it becomes a habit.  Once you get there you stop thinking about what God might think about it. 

   

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, sometimes my life is a contradiction. I try really hard to keep promises when I make them but there are times when I fail.  Help me to understand the importance of being honest in everything I do.  I want my life to reflect what it means to live honestly and do everything with integrity. I can’t be an example to others if I can’t keep promises for the small things.

Scripture: No harm overtakes the righteous, but the wicked have their fill of trouble.  The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.  The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves, but a fool's heart blurts out folly.  Proverbs 12:21-23