When I was younger my goal was always to do whatever I needed to do to stay out of trouble, even though I was causing it. So, whether it was lying, hiding, cheating, etc., I did what I could to keep my trouble hidden so I wouldn't get punished.
This is something that came up the other day at youth group that has been on my mind since. I had a kid bragging about how he was keeping from getting punished by lying about his actions. I was that kid though, so I know that in the end your concern is that someone is going to find you out. You can't ever find peace when you live in a life of sin.
Proverbs 10:9 says "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out."
About the time that I got serious about my walk with the Lord and dedicated my life to Him, I decided I needed to start telling the truth. If I was truly going to believe that my Father in Heaven had the best plans for me, then I needed to trust that He would lead me into them regardless of the sin that He knew was in my life. I didn't need to stretch the truth in interviews, on my taxes, or when talking to potential girlfriends. If God's plan was for me to get the job, then I was going to get it by answering the interview questions as honestly as possible. Any lies may still result in me getting the job, but I'm sure that the job is going to go a lot better if I don't need to spend any time in God's discipline for my crooked steps.
A life of truth and honestly has been great. Like everyone who falls short of the glory of God... I still might exaggerate the size of the fish I catch, the distance I can jump, the ability I have to fight bad guys, and how cool I am, but I can truly see when I tell the truth that God blesses me in ways that I didn't see blessing before. Mostly, the truth is often a step of humility, and humility brings us closer to God as we understand that all things come from Him.
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