the Week of Proper 13 / Ordinary 18
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Daily Devotionals
Voice of the Lord
Stripping off falsehood, let everyone speak truth with his neighbor (Ephesians 4:25).
I have been amazed at how easy it is for people to lie to one another. We've gotten so used to it that we don't even consider it lying! We lie to avoid inconvenience and we lie because we don't want to hurt others with the truth. Have you ever been in a situation where someone called to speak to you and you told the person answering the phone, "Tell them I'm not in"? It's a lie, but people do it all the time.
An old Yiddish proverb says, "Mit lign kumt men veyt ober nit tsurik" (with lies you will go far, but not [be able to come] back again). When we allow ourselves even the most "innocent" kinds of "white lies," we lose a great deal. Small lies invariably lead to big ones. A habit of fudging leads to a pattern of falsehood. God wants our lives to be characterized by the truth, for truth is what characterizes God. He cannot lie and neither should we, under any circumstance. If a little lie has led you astray, only the truth will bring you back to stay.
No matter how uncomfortable or how inconvienent it is, telling the truth is the only option for the child of God.
...commit myself to telling the truth in all circumstances, no matter what the consequences.
DB
The Voice of the Lord, Copyright © 1998 by the Lewis and Harriet Lederer Foundation, Inc. Published by Messianic Jewish Publishers, Distributed by Messianic Jewish Resources, www.messianicjewish.net. All rights reserved. Used by permission. No part of this article may be reproduced in print or on the web, or transmitted in any form, without the written permission of the publisher.