Honesty Is The Best Policy
When I was a small boy growing up in Mississippi, my Granny was often a source of wisdom, unconditional love, good cooking, and entertainment. I'll never forget a lesson she taught me by accident about honesty. We had stopped at a convenience store after church, where she intended to get a Sunday paper from the machine out front. She gave me a quarter and told me to run get two papers, one for her and one for my mother.
I got to the machine and saw that a Sunday paper was 25 cents, and I shouted to her as she sat in the car that I would need another quarter. Granny said, "No, baby, just put the quarter in the slot, open the door, and get two papers out of the machine." I must have looked puzzled because she repeated herself a little louder.
About that time a customer walked out of the store, so when I proceeded to explain that I couldn't get two papers out of the machine without putting in two quarters, she shushed me, got out of the car, and said, "Just get in the car." I climbed into the car and watched as she put the quarter into the slot, opened the door, and retrieved two newspapers.
As the metal door slammed shut and she began to walk away, she was suddenly stopped short by the strap of her big, black purse hanging on her arm. She had accidentally caught the purse in the paper machine. With the door closed, she was stuck.
After a frustrating moment of indecision, Granny fished around, produced a second quarter, and freed herself from captivity. It was all I could do to keep from laughing, but something told me to keep that lesson to myself.
The Bible teaches us that stealing is always wrong and that it is what we do in our private moments that define our character and prove our witness to those around us. Doing the right thing is not one option among others for the Christian, it is a mandate.
Even when the compromise seems small, even when it appears no one is looking or is likely to be harmed, our theft, our lie, our disregard for what is right has consequences.
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here! And to him who lacks sense she says, 'Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.' But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol" (Proverbs 9:16-18, ESV).
Spilling Your Coffee
Imagine you’re holding a cup of coffee when someone bumps into you, causing you to spill what's in your cup.
You didn't spill tea. You didn't spill grape juice or soda. You spilled coffee because coffee is what was in your cup. If you’d had tea in your cup, it would have been tea that spilled out. The point is, whatever is inside your cup is what will spill out of your cup if bumped or shaken.
We are each a vessel, not unlike a cup. Looking from the outside, no one can know what we “contain.” But when events of life bump up against us or shake us up, whatever is inside will likely come spilling out.
So we must ask ourselves, “What’s in my cup?” Is it love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Or is it anger, bitterness, anxiety, impatience, mean-spiritedness, ill will, faithlessness, harshness, and lack of discipline?
We might present to the world that we are full of one thing when really we are full of another. It’s easy to fake it when nothing is bumping into us or shaking us up. But bring on a little trial, a little temptation, irritation, conflict, inconvenience, etc., and what's inside our heart of hearts will come spilling out.
So fill yourselves with the Fruits of the Spirit so that the goodness and light within you spills out onto others as a testimony of the transformative power of Christ in your life.
Don't Let Your Friends Hold You Back
Most of us have some experience with choosing a side in a conflict or a debate. And whether we realize it or not, our positions on any number of things has a way of narrowing our associations. If you're a Christian, you have Christian friends. If you are an artist, your closest friends are creative in some way. All of us have a particular political leaning, and it's likely that most of our friends agree with us.
But what if someone has an addiction of some sort? More often than not, the people he or she associates with are caught up in an addiction as well.
What you love most will show through the people with whom you surround yourself. If your passion happens to be productive, you will attract like-minded people. But if it's counter-productive, you will surround yourself with people who will hold you back.
Thus, if you are not yet reconciled to God, then you are most likely surrounded by people who will help keep you that way. Your passion, whether it is for God or not, has led you to where you are right now, to the people in your life.
Are the people around you following God? Don't let your friends hold you back!
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14).