Tonight I decided to grill a hamburger for dinner. It was alright đŸ™‚ . While eating, I glimpsed a comedy sitcom on television. One of the plots on that episode was how parent’s should be truthful with their children.
In the story, a child asked his mother about death… he asked, “Where do people go when they die?“. However, the child’s mother didn’t exactly know how to communicate with her son on a seemingly mature topic like death, as it touches on personal and spiritual beliefs, or lack of. So she decided not to tell him anything, as she didn’t want to teach her beliefs and truths to him, with the purpose of not limiting his understanding.
Yet by not answering her son, all she did was cause him more confusion. And, because his mother didn’t answer him… he just asked someone else. However, the next person her son asked didn’t feel like talking to him either, so she told him something (a lie) just to get him to go away, as she was busy doing whatever. It’s so crazy how lies, given with good intentions, can ruin relationships, eliminate trust, etc.
The truth is sometimes hard to tell in the moment, but is always better in the long run.
How many times have we told false truths, or a truth without any context, or simply blatant lies, just to manipulate others? How many times have we seen police officers outright lie to protect themselves and cover their mistakes? How many times have people stood in front of a judge and actually told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
If you lie, you will steal, and if you steal… you’ll kill.
I understand that no one is perfect, and we all have lied at some point… that’s the truth. Nevertheless, watching the sitcom reminded me of 2 important life lessons.
- Without wisdom, even people with good intentions can cause more confusion. – In the sitcom, the mother only wanted the best for her son. However, her good intentions were without wisdom, as her son just asked someone else what he wanted to know. Which only caused more confusion in the end.
- It takes courage to discuss difficult topics with confidence – A subject like death is something no one really wants to talk about. But, any topic is easy to discuss if you are secure in your knowledge of it. So, the more your know… the easier it is to discuss anything.
This past weekend I listened to a sermon on Death and Life. Pastor Ellis spoke about the purpose of a seed. Every seed has to die in order for it to bring forth life, or for it to grow into its purpose and create more seeds.
I feel in a sense what we say, or the words in which we speak are likened to seeds. The Bible says in Proverbs 18:21 – Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
What type of fruit are you planting in your life and into those you love? Are you speaking forth words that are always criticizing, or words that are encouraging? Do you find yourself disagreeing more than agreeing? I love this quote by one of my favorite comedians…
“Our culture has accepted two huge lies. The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe, say or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate.”
Dave Chappelle