His wife Rebekah was very beautiful, and the men of that place asked Isaac about her. Isaac said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to tell them she was his wife. He thought they might kill him so they could have her. (Genesis 26:7)
Unless you have been sleeping under a rock since the beginning of the year, you have no doubt heard all the political chatter going on in our nation’s capital. Now before you go ahead and delete this message because you think this is going to be some sort of political commentary in support of Democrats or Republicans or Libertarians, or whatever label you choose, this is not about politics or government or policies or legislation or elections or being on the right wing or the left wing.
It’s about telling the truth.
And, sadly, this daily struggle all of us have with “telling the truth” is not confined to our politicians. The struggle to be truthful is everywhere – at work, at school, in our neighborhoods, in our homes. And worst of all – in our churches. And that’s probably the hardest one to swallow.
In Genesis 26, Isaac was really up against the wall. If he told the truth and admitted that Rebekah was his wife, there was no doubt that the men of a town called Gerar would kill Isaac and take her. If he told a little “fib” or “white lie” that this beautiful woman was his sister, the men would probably just leave both Isaac and Rebekah alone, and move on to someone else. In the end, Isaac decided to lie.
Now none of us were there at the time and can tell what Isaac was thinking when he said that Rebekah was his sister. My guess is that Isaac figured, “hey, this is just a little white lie - no one will get hurt from this little fib.”
Wow…how wrong he was.
Let me ask you a question…
Right now, as you read this, are you in a situation where you are wondering if you should tell the truth, or a “little white lie”?
If you are, ask yourself this – if I lie, will God bless my deceit?
Think about it for a minute…the God who hates lies and loves the truth…will this one and only holy God bless my fibbing? Bless my cheating on an exam or project in school? Will He bless me surfing the web at work when I should be working? Will He bless me when I spread false rumors about others at school or work so I get more popular or look better in the eyes of my school or work-mates?
I sincerely doubt it.
If you are even considering a thought that is less than 100% truthful, maybe, just maybe, it’s time to examine your heart, look in the mirror, and start asking the tough questions you know need to be answered.
Am I being honest at school or work or with friends?
Are my relationships real, or based on flimsy lies?
Do you always tell the truth, or only when it is convenient for you? If you cannot honestly answer that question, let me suggest this…start by answering that question truthfully today. You may be young and think you have all the time in the world to “right your ship,” but you never know when something is going to happen and God’s plans just don’t mesh with yours. Think about the people that have been in and around your life that were taken suddenly and never had a chance to tell the truth and “right their ship.”
Don’t let that person be you. If you are a witness in a court case, you’ll be asked to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
You may not be a witness in court today.
But you are a witness for Jesus everyday. So, “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
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