“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”
The cute
social media post thing strikes again. I came across this fluff ball the other
day:
“Nope, I haven’t seen your lipstick.”
Adorable.
Humorous. Human.
Indeed, this
deceptive attempt at convincing did not start with our adorable pup. Rather, we
need to look at history, a little further back. Let’s peek in on a power couple
in Acts
5.
Once upon a
time, there was Ananias and Sapphira...
“Now a man named Ananias, together
with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.”
Verse 1
Just a cute
couple doing business. Nothing to see here.
“With
his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but
brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.”
Verse 2
Oh, that’s...
interesting.
“Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled
your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself
some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold,
wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing?
You have not lied just to human beings but to God.’”
Verses 3-4
Oh-Oh-Oh- ka-a-a-a-y...
Well, maybe
he’ll get an opportunity to apologize, to make things right.
“When Ananias heard this, he fell
down and died...”
Verse 5
Guess not...
“...And great fear seized all who
heard what had happened.
Verse 5
Oh dear.
That’s quite a ripple effect...
So,
anyway, necessary business still needed to be taken care of. We have to inform
his wife about her husband’s passing and clarify matters...
“About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what
had happened. Peter asked her, ‘Tell me, is this the
price you and Ananias got for the land?’”
Verses
7-8
Uh-oh...
“‘Yes,’ she said, ‘that
is the price.’”
Verse 8
There’s
nothing like déjà vu, huh?
“Peter
said to her, ‘How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen!
The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will
carry you out also.’”
Verse
9
Yep,
déjà vu in process...
“At that moment she fell down at his
feet and died...
Verse 10
Déjà vu REALLY in process...
“Great fear seized
the whole church and all who heard about these events.”
Verse 11
And, another shot at learning the lesson?
Eh, maybe...
For, centuries later, we arrive at our lipstick puppy.
“Nope, I haven’t seen your lipstick.”
And we chuckle. We go “awwh.” The
ruby red color is smeared all over the white muzzle. No amount of “blending”
can make that face look anything shy of “I ate your tube of lipstick.”
But, as much as we may find humor at
this pup- or even in our husband and wife duo, we cannot escape an unflattering
reality. Often, we lie, fully aware of our lie, with its evidence obviously
present.
And often, we do it for the sake of
our addictions.
“You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than
speaking the truth.”
It seems stupid to think we’d ever
get away with it, let alone, prosper from it.
“He who covers his sins will not prosper: but whoever
confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13
Unless, however, we already believe the lie “we’re getting
away with it.” Falling for that time-old doozy has led many down a tricky primrose
path.
We believe no one sees.
We believe no one
knows.
We believe it’s not
hurting anyone.
We believe we’re in control.
“He whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.”
So, we lie...
And cheat...
And steal...
And betray...
Sooner or later, our lies strike us down. We may not be killed
on the spot, like Ananias and Sapphira, but let’s not fool ourselves, something
is destroyed...
“But every man is tempted, when he is
drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and
sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
James 1:14-15
What would happen if we owned our stuff, ugly warts and all?
Could there, indeed, be a better chance at experiencing
mercy, forgiveness or any variation of a second chance?
“He who covers his sins will not prosper: but whoever
confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13
And what kind of freedom could we tap into by complete
honesty?
We don’t have to worry about keeping our lies straight.
We don’t have to live in fear of “being discovered.”
We can be at peace, being who we are, imperfect, acquainted
with our own deception experiences and unflattering backstories, yet not “done
in” by them.
“The truth shall set you free.”
John 8:32
Concerning
the proverbial puppy/cosmetic issue, we could confidently move forward in our
lives by embracing truth:
“Yes, I did see your lipstick. Not only that, I stole it, used it AND ate it.
I confess and apologize.”
We’d look a
lot better being that kind of puppy.
Copyright © 2020 by Sheryle Cruse
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