Word for Today, Tue, 27 Jul 2004: Getting Caught In Our Own Lie
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
Too many times in this life we justify, or attempt to justify,
our actions. The truth is, when we try to justify ourselves, we
deceive ourselves, and in so doing, we tell a lie - mostly to
ourselves. Other times we try to cover up or deceive others.
Few, if any of us, are completely without guilt in this manner,
though I pray that many of us are either working through such
matters or that we've allowed the Lord to cleanse us of such
things.
Practically speaking, however, I've come to realize that the mind
is a very deceitful thing. I'll speak now for myself. I don't
go around openly telling lies to people, I do make a genuine
effort to do what's right, kind, and true. But if I told you
that I never justify my actions or that I never cover up my
activities, that itself would be a lie.
As I've grown in my faith and my knowledge of the Lord, He has
convicted me, over and over again about matters of purity. As I
said, I'm not prone to continually lying. However, as I've
looked closely at myself, I realize that I do, at times, justify
myself and defend myself. I'm learning, more and more, that
simply confessing my faults, first before God, and when
necessary, before men, is the right thing to do. I'm still a
work in progress, but confessing, turning away (repenting) and
starting fresh is a most liberating way to live.
Today's message is about a white lie that turned out to be costly
in more ways than one. Here is the first part of that story.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
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Sowing Seeds of Faith...
Sowing Seeds Ministry is excited to announce the winners of this
year's writers contest. We received many entries from all
over the country so we had a tougher time than ever choosing
winners and honorable mentions. Our four winners contributed
excellent entries but so did many others hence you will see many
honorable mentions on our web site.
Poetry Winner is "The Word" written by Roseanne
Dooling of Butte Montana. Her poem has not been posted on the
web site yet but there were many honorable mentions and you can
see them at the following address:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/2004poetry.htm
Sermon winner is "Completing Our Tasks" written by
Amber Young of Lynchburg, Virginia. The sermon can be found
along with our honorable mentions at the following address:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/2004sermon.htm
Prayer winner is "Stop" written by Carol Sanger of
Blackstone, Virginia. The prayer can be found along with our
honorable mentions at:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/2004prayer.htm
Our devotion winner is "White Lie" written by Lisa A
Nichols of Anacortes, Washington State. We have included part
one of her devotion below and hope you enjoy the story. Her
story is also published on our website along with the listing of
our many honorable mentions at
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/2004Devotion.htm. Lisa is only
twenty-three years old and has already published a novel. I
think you will really appreciate her writing and her message. If
you would like to send an email of encouragement you can use
this address: mailto:princesslilia@hotmail.com
"White Lie" 2004 Sowing Seeds Ministry Writing
Contest Winner Lisa A. Nichols
"I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased
with integrity." (1 Chronicles 29:17)
The sound of my feet against the concrete sidewalk as I trotted
along with my three companions was like a tapping rhythm. I was
engrossed in its melody, my mind wandering to a more musical
place, trying to pull out some song I knew to go with my feet. I
might have started singing.
"So now what?" my friend Rebecca announced, pulling me back to
my original frame of mind. I stopped and glanced around. There
we were - my sister Erin, my friends Rebecca and Michael and
myself - a ll halted in the road, having just come out of an
antiques shop. We spent the afternoon waltzing up and down the
sidewalks of Friday Harbor, having lunch, exploring the shops
and enjoying each other's company. The sun shone overhead and
was warm on our backs, yet we were refreshed by the cool sea
breeze blowing through the charming island town.
"Well, we could see a movie," I suggested, always an avid
movie-buff, even on a sunny afternoon.
"Yeah, I saw a little theater downtown," Michael
confirmed.
"Well let's go. We don't have anything else to do." I said and
we took off down the concrete hill, paved with brick and wooden
sidewalk shops all the way down. The ground leveled the closer
we came to the tiny one-room theater, squeezed between an
old-fashioned ice-cream parlor and a bookstore.
Only two movies were playing but one in particular caught all of
our attention. "Look at the prices," I noted, nodding up toward
the plaque above the ticket booth.
"Geez, there's a two dollar difference between youth
and adult," Erin remarked.
Everybody nodded and we stole to the side to discuss our
options. Erin and I were seventeen and Michael and Rebecca were
eighteen. Hmmm... our scheming brains were boiling up a plan.
The cutoff was sixteen so we could surely pass as youths, pay
the cheaper price and save two bucks each. Rebecca voiced what
was swimming through all our brains. "Why don't we say we're
sixteen?"
Michael deemed himself our spokesperson, stepped up boldly to
the ticket booth and proclaimed, "Four youth tickets
please. " He named the movie but then the ticket guy
hesitated as he looked us all over with a raised eyebrow.
"How old are you guys? " he asked.
"Sixteen." Michael answered.
"I'm sorry but this movie is rated R."
The statement didn't register at first. Rated R? So what! What
did that mean? The others must have thought the same because
moments passed without any of us speaking a word.
The ticket guy read the confusion on our faces and in response
to our dumbfounded silence he added, "It's rated R.
That means you have to be seventeen to see it or have your
parent's permission."
"Parents permission? But we are seventeen!" I wanted
to cry out, only... that would expose our conspiracy to
obtain cheap tickets; it would defeat the whole purpose of our
fib.
Suddenly, it dawned on me like the morning sun poking its first
rays above the darkened horizon: we dug ourselves into our own
grave. By lying about our age to get into the movie at a cheap
price, we denied ourselves entrance. Well, we sure hadn't
seen that coming!
Speechless, we could do nothing but stare at each other with
desperately entreating eyes as if willing our thoughts to tiptoe
out of our heads and silently plot a solution to our dilemma. I
suppose each of us were wondering how we might still make it
into the theater without looking like complete fools.
Next Week: Don't miss the conclusion as Lisa share the
lessons learned from her "White Lie."
Read Sowing Seeds of Faith... everyday! Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Devotions.htm
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Jesus said: "You are the light of the world-like a city on
a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide
your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it
shine for all." (Matthew 5:14-15)
"Breaking the Peanut Butter Habit: Following God's
Recipe for a Better Life" now on sale only through our
website. http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/peanbutt.htm
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Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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