A Matter of Trust

There’s a well-known story involving Dutch holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom (pictured here) about the power of forgiveness. Shortly after being freed from a Nazi concentration camp, Corrie spoke about that experience at a church in Munich, Germany. A former camp guard that Corrie recognized approached her, extended his hand and asked for her forgiveness. Corrie struggled at first while she stood face-to-face with one of her former captors. Finally, Corrie shook the man’s hand and in her own words: “I had never known God’s love so intensely, as I did then.”

A few years ago, I experienced a forgiveness test at a revival meeting in the Minneapolis area. Around the time the preacher talked about forgiving others, I noticed a familiar-looking man leaning up against the wall. It turned out to be my former best friend whom I hadn’t seen in over a decade. “Stephen” betrayed me by getting into an adulterous relationship with my then-wife who separated from me and subsequently filed for divorce. Immediately, I reminded the Lord of my forgiving Stephen but had a feeling we would end up talking that night.

After responding to an altar call and doing some “carpet time”, I went to use the bathroom. Sure enough, Stephen was also in there. He asked to speak with me, and we moved out to the lobby. After a few minutes passed without him mentioning my ex-wife, I went ahead and told Stephen I had forgiven him for betraying me. He thanked me but didn’t apologize or say anything that sounded like genuine remorse. Stephen said something about contacting my ex-wife’s father again. He also wanted to stay in touch with me through the Internet. Although I later showed him my website on my laptop, I didn’t have peace about giving him my email address.  

Sometimes boundaries need to be set when a professing Christian breach their trust. Even Jesus didn’t have blind faith in people. John 2:24 (NLT) says, “But Jesus didn’t trust them, because he knew human nature.” While we are to believe the best of every person (1 Corinthians 13:7), it’s unfortunate when a lifetime of trust gets broken in seconds.

“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” - Psalm 118:8

Nothing But The Truth

Remember the old Disney cartoon “Pinocchio”?  This was about a puppet brought to life by a fairy that tells him he can become a real boy if he proves himself “brave, truthful, and unselfish.”  Pinocchio then faced a variety of temptations.  Whenever he didn’t tell the truth, his nose would grow.  In real life, “Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed.”(Proverbs 12:19)

One time I witnessed to a young man who professed to be a Christian but admitted to telling a few lies.  Yet he didn’t think anything was wrong with that as long as it helped somebody else.  That reminded me of a well-known religious person who also justified lying.  Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church once said, “If you tell a lie to make a person better, then that is not a sin.”  He further added, “Even God tells lies very often; you can see this throughout history.”  Apparently Rev. Moon does not know the God of the Bible very well…

“God is not a man, that He should lie…” - Numbers 23:19

”And he [The Lord]who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!” - 1 Samuel 15:29 (NLT)

“In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” - Titus 1:2

 “…it is impossible for God to lie.” - Hebrews 6:18

Lying is a serious sin in the eyes of the Lord.  Proverbs 12:22 calls lying lips “an abomination.”  In Acts chapter 5, Ananias and Sapphira suddenly died after not telling the truth about how much of their money they gave in an offering.  Revelation 21:8 warns,“all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.”  In other words, “You lie…you fry!”

Nevertheless, many worldly people condone lying.  In a recent Yahoo poll, 59% of its respondents believe lying is justified if it keeps another from harm.  I remember as a kid watching an episode of “The Electric Company” in which one of the actors declared, “Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to tell a little white lie.”  But “white lies” are still lies.

Lying is certainly a severe offense to authorities.  If a judge caught you lying on the witness stand, you would be punished.  If you got caught cheating on your taxes, you would face fines and possibly prison time.  Rev. Moon once spent time behind bars for filing false federal income tax returns.

One might question why the prostitute Rahab was praised for hiding the Israelite spies (Hebrews 11:31, James 2:25) and lying to her authorities in Jericho.  Some theologians teach that Rahab followed a higher law to save a life.  It would be comparable to a believer living in Nazi Germany and was confronted by the Gestapo about hiding Jews in their house.  But instead of lying, one could respond by asking, “What are Jews?”

When sinners are confronted about ungodly behaviors such as lying, some try to dodge the issue by saying, “God is love.”  That is true…but He hates certain things including a lying tongue (Proverbs 6:16-17).  To believe a lie, one must reject the truth.  As Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”

We should “hate and abhor lying” (Psalm 119:163) because that is part of the unregenerated man’s sinful nature.  Colossians 3:9 commands, “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds.”  One medical study done at Notre Dame determined that people who habitually tell the truth experience better mental and physical health. 

So the next time you are tempted to lie, don’t do it.  It’s best to always tell the truth and nothing but the truth...so help us God.

“Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another.” - Ephesians 4:25

What If…

On April 20th, 1889, a baby named Adolf Hitler was born in Brannau am Inn, Austria. As a boy, Adolf sang in a church choir and thought about becoming a priest. Imagine what would have happened if Adolf heard the true gospel and committed his life to Jesus? With his powerful speaking skills, Adolf could have been used by God to bring revival to Germany and other parts of Europe. Instead the Führer was used by the devil to spread death and destruction unlike anybody else in human history.

God often uses the most unlikely people to fulfill His purposes. Consider the conversation between Ananias and the Lord shortly after Saul (later renamed Paul) of Tarsus got knocked off his horse on the road to Damascus in Acts 9…

11 So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.

12 And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.” 

13 Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.

14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” 

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

The next time you have doubts about ministering to a particular person, ask God to clarify if this is a divine appointment set up by Him. Your obedience could have an impact on human history. You may end up bringing salvation to someone who will become the next Billy Graham or Reinhard Bonnke.

“For many are called, but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:14