Ephesians 4:25 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
Well, here we go again. The Bible meddlin' in my life!
Just yesterday I had a discussion with my father about whether it was right to continue to play tennis at the local tennis complex even though my membership had lapsed. For the past several weeks I have continued to play, never being asked for id at the door. A nod and a smile has gotten me onto the courts.
Justifications ran rampant. "It's their responsibility to id people at the door." "My playing is not costing the club any extra money." "I have never verbally lied to them." "I am not sneaking in the back door." But then along came today's reading. "Put off falsehood".
God's standard is not the world's standard. His ways are not our ways. Christianity does not offer a menu of items from which to select. "Hmmm. . . Let's see. I'll have two items from the moral indignation section. One from the Christian disciplines menu. Oh, yeah, give me a big ol' piece of that get-out-of-hell entree. But I think I'll pass on the personal integrity." Doesn't work that way. Being a Christian is an all or nothing proposition.
When God convicts us about an area of our lives, we have one choice- obey or disobey. There is no middle ground. I will smoke less. Disobedience. I will pass along that gossip only as a prayer request. Disobedience. No one is really getting hurt if I don't pay the gym membership but still go. Disobedience.
Falsehood can be telling an outright lie, leaving a false impression or allowing someone to believe something is true that you know is not.
Truth should be one of the hallmarks of a Christian's life. Guess I have a gym membership to renew.
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