Honesty: Protects Us
He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. - Proverbs 28:13 (NKJV)
This just in . . . sin is up this month. We're seeing increases across the board, but we're also seeing a serious spike when it comes to one particular sin--lying. Consider the findings of a recent poll:
69% lie regularly to their spouse
75% lie regularly to their friends
86% lie regularly to their parents
91% lie on a routine basis
A survey conducted by a resume-screening agency revealed that 35 percent of submitted resumes contain lies and 41 percent of college graduates deliberately lie on their resumes in order to obtain a job. The U.S. Government calculated that 10 million Americans falsify their tax information (lies which cost the rest of us $200 billion each year!). Another study concluded that the average person tells two major lies per week and seven lies per hour; this figure includes the lies they tell to themselves! The numbers don't lie. A lot of people are lying! But why?
I believe that in many cases people lie because they think it will free them from more responsibilities in life: Sorry, I can't cover your shift tonight (cough). I'm not feeling well. Or, people lie because they believe it will spare them from an awkward situation: Hello. Oh, hi. No (yawn), no I wasn't sleeping. And sometimes people lie in order to avoid the consequences of their actions: Hi, honey! Sorry I'm late. Traffic was thick tonight [at the electronics store]. People think they're making life easier by lying, but in reality they're only making it more difficult. Just add time to a lie, and you can be certain the responsibilities, awkward moments, and consequences will snowball.
Honesty protects us from this avalanche. Instead of trying to cover our sins, we can be free from their entanglements as we honestly confess and forsake them. No more charades, no more masquerades, and no more trying to remember which tainted version of the truth you told to so and so. Be free from it all. Be honest.
DIG - How does honesty protect us?
DISCOVER - When have you told a lie that snowballed out of control?
DISPLAY - Are there any lies you need to confess and forsake? Do it before you lie to yourself that you don't need to.
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At the age of 24, Bob Coy left a coveted position in the music industry to serve as an associate pastor with Calvary Chapel of Las Vegas. In 1985, Bob and his wife, Diane, moved to Fort Lauderdale and began Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale. As senior pastor, he has become well known for his unique style in expounding the Scriptures, making them come alive and relate to those of us living in the 21st century. His teaching style emphasizes the believer's "life application" of the highest standards of God's truth while his delivery captures the loving heart of God's Spirit.
Pastor Bob has had the rare privilege of watching God's miraculous hand move in the individual lives of those in the fellowship as well as the corporate body as a whole. From the first meeting in a living room with four in attendance, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale has now become home to over 17,000 men and women from the tri-county area, and ranks as the eighth largest church in the country. Though many have tried to attribute its rapid growth to numerous reasons, no one is more surprised by the phenomenon than Pastor Bob, who gives total credit and all the glory to God alone.
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