Truth is sometimes a hard thing to find, isn't it?
I don't know if our time in this world is any worse than other times or not,
but truth seems to be cherished less than when I was younger. Truth seems more
"adjustable" if you will. If you want to change a little thing here
or there to make whatever is being said more palatable, more believable that's
acceptable. If you words can make you seem more important, more accomplished, and
then embellish all you want.
This little story illustrates this point. It seems
that two ardent fishermen met on their vacation and began swapping stories
about the different places they had fished, the kind of tackle used, the best
bait, and finally about some of the fish they had caught. One of them told of a
vicious battle he once had with a 300-pound salmon. The other man listened
attentively. He frankly admitted he had never caught anything quite that big.
However, he told about the time his hook snagged a lantern from the depths of a
lake. The lantern carried a tag proving it was lost back in 1912. But the
strangest thing of all was the fact that it was a waterproof lantern and the
light was still lit.
For a long time the first man said nothing. Then he
took one long deep breath. "I'll tell you what I'll do," he said
slowly. "I'll take 200 pounds off my fish, if you'll put out the light in
your lantern."
The writer
of Ecclesiastes 5:2 tells us: "Do not be quick with your mouth,
do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven
and you are on earth, so let your words be few."
While Solomon tells us in Proverbs 23:23: "Buy
the truth and do not sell it… ". In other words the truth has
value; don't give it up for something that will cheapen your life.
I wonder how our story would have to change to put out our
light? I'm sure you remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:16. He said: "…
let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and
glorify your Father in heaven."
Words
have meaning, words have consequences. Some of those consequences are seen in
God's words recorded in Revelation
21:7-8. "Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God
and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the
murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters
and all liars; they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This
is the second death."
Isn't
it strange, we tend to categorize sin as big or little, serious or not so
serious, but God says they all have the same ending whether it is those who are
sexually immoral or liars. Do you use an adjustable scale on truth? Maybe you
should rethink that approach.
