The Lawless Nations

It has been some time since my last article. I wish to continue sharing my thoughts and discoveries with anyone who is interested I. The hopes that it may give some hope and encouragement. 

As I have stated before on why I started this blog and decided to share these things, it’s because I believe there are many good people who do desire the truth.  At times we can all get discouraged or distracted. 

As of this writing as all of you will know, the times have gotten very interesting. I do not desire to delve into politics but I do wish to share some insights and provoke some serious thought on these events.  Just as a quick recap many of the nations have just been through a pandemic lockdown and at least in the United States there have been widespread protests many of which have been accompanied with widespread looting, vandalism, and murder.  But I want this article to focus on the general principles not the specific events because times will change but human nature remains the same.  

I have long known that human nature is selfish, materialistic, and prideful. These traits are most strongly seen in trying times. It is during times of crisis, not in times of peace that we see what character individuals have fostered in themselves. 

Many of my articles touch upon the Ten Commandments and the intent and spirit of those commandments.  So this article is going to go through each of the Ten Commandments to see how the nations are doing in regards to abiding these basic laws. 

 The nations in general, the majority of people, have forgotten God. Now the reason this is important is because without establishing this as a constant going forward, morality and thus right and wrong, becomes relativistic and it is human nature to justify their actions instead of reconciling against fixed truths. The nations have broken the first commandment by denying the existence of God. 

The nations have created their own gods in place of their true God. In most cases they have made men into their gods. They exalt and elevate the advise of experts, they put their trust in politicians, doctors, scientists, and professors. This despite the fact that all of them have proven to be unreliable and none of them possess the power to change us or heal us.  The nations have broken the second commandment by replacing God. 

As the nations or at least the leaders of many of the nations have taken upon themselves the place of God. They treat lightly the things of God and blaspheme his name.  Cursing and swearing is of course rampant, but I advocate that it is Gods right to rule since only He is truest a good and righteous ruler. As such only men or women who uphold God’s laws and standards should occupy leadership. Im not saying that only people who claim to be religious should govern. But I’m saying that anyone who occupies such positions does need to uphold the standards that God has set forth. Interesting thought, many critically thinking atheists will actually conclude that the laws that make up the Ten Commandments are the best laws to base a functioning society upon.   The nations have broken the third commandment by appointing leaders that blaspheme God and teach contrary to his commandments. 

They nations have attempted to end the observance of a sabbath. They have attempt to shut down churches and have openly persecuted both those who try to hold church services as well as those who attempt to attend such services.  The wicked have long persecuted those who try to do what is right, but recent events have taken it to the next level.  Now in my view church attendance is not of itself a requirement put forth by God, but it is to most a powerful aid to the faithful and the wicked are attempting to use it to drive those who are trying to find fellowship in Christ further away from the things of God and fill their hearts and minds with the things of Babylon.  As such I will hold this as an example of breaking the 4th commandment and any nation that continues to persecute the lawful observance of Sabbaths and other holy days will be marked down as Sabbath braking nations. 

Traditional values and teachings have been forgotten and discarded.  The younger generations rebel and mock their parents and the older generations. They twist and distort the history. Not just the younger generation, but the leadership and many of the people have taken part in a massive effort to rewrite the history. They place false motives and narratives on their forefathers and teachers. Many people now believe all many of incorrect or misleading information about how the nations were formed, what actually happened and why previous generations did what they did. Furthermore because many have been raised without being taught proper respect for their parents, authority in general, or the rights of others, these generations rebel against the very principles that are essential for a safe and lawful society. As such they have not honored, but rather disgraced their forefathers and foremothers and have broken the fifth  commandment. 

Many leaders and those they employ have killed the innocent and are using their power and influence to allow more people to be ruthlessly murdered.  In this time much of the violence and rioting is blamed on the terrible death of a civilian at the hands of a law enforcement officer, a scene that plays out more often than it should, but I will leave the names and other details out and focus on the broader story. Those who are supposed to uphold the law and protect liberty and justice have no right to oppress the people, let alone injure them or kill them or allow them to be killed. This is a disgrace and an abomination in the eyes of God. Now I do know that often law enforcement is put in a difficult situation, and they are human. But that does not justify wrongdoing in their part and I think all to many have lost sight of what they are supposed to be doing. But our outrage for any perceived or real injustices in no way justifies us in retaliating and murdering law enforcement or any others.  Murder is murder and is not justified.  You are not justified in confronting or provoking law enforcement, or slandering them, or destroying their property. Yes, those who are entrusted to protect the people must not murder or violate the people. This is an abomination. This practice must cease and any law enforcement that violates the trust of the people needs to be held accountable and appropriate justice measures do need to be taken. But on the flip side of this is the people.  And the people need to learn to govern themselves. They need to try to solve the issues that their communities face. Law enforcement (and governments in general) only exist because people  have not learned how to govern themselves.  If the people insist on violating each other or murdering each other then they are just as evil as the corrupt police they are retaliating against.  And I will add and emphasis that defending those who break the law or commit murder is to rake upon yourselves that crime. I personally condemn all who commit crimes regardless of their role. I would hold cops more accountable as they are specifically charged to uphold the law, but everyone is responsible for their own actions.  In addition most of the nations do openly promote abortion and abortion is murder of the innocent. I could continue on this point for some time but I’ll leave it at this. The nations have violated the 6th commandment by embracing murder. 

Promiscuity and sexual immorality have continued to reach new highs. During this time of crisis when people were placed into quarantine, the viewing of pornographic material has increased dramatically. I will make this statement clear. Indulging in promiscuity is adultery.  This stuff is filth. Be faithful to your spouse. As a whole marriage is under attack and people having extramarital associations is openly encouraged. Ultimately how you apply this is up to you, but one of the foundational building blocks of society is a stable family structure. A stable structure cannot consistently exist outside the traditional marriage structure and study after study and the current state of our society proves this point. As such, the 7th commandment has been broken.  

During the riots, people’s property has been vandalized (theft), stolen, people’s livelihoods destroyed (theft), homes and property has been burned and destroyed (theft).  And many if the leaders and law enforcement have allowed it to happen, often defending these wrongful actions, applauding the wonton wickedness and trying to pass it off as righteous indignation. Theft is a disgrace. If the leaders embrace it or justify it, they are guilty of it themselves. And any people who justify this lawlessness are taking part in it even if they have not directly participated. The only correct course is to condemn all theft and vandalism. It is wrong and never was and never will be the right way to accomplish good. The only thing that comes of evil is more evil. Those that have participated in these acts have broken the 8th commandment. 

During all this the leaders, media, and many of the people are promoting, fabricating, and propagating false information. Much of it is intended to encourage division. Much of it is intended to encourage lawlessness. Much if it is intended to spread fear. Much of it is intended to spread confusion. Regardless lies are lies and no good nation can be based upon lies. The truth, even if it’s not what we want to hear, brings peace, hope, and encouragement. It teaches us what is required of us to become better people. The lies that have become the accepted truth and the nations embrace it.  I will add that many people aren’t just being lied to. They want the lies. They know that much of what they hear is false, but they accept it and convince themselves that it’s true because a part of them prefers it to the truth. The nations have broken the 9th commandment by both lying to the people and the people have broken the commandment by accepting the lies. 

Many of the people in this age feel entitled to the fruits of the labors if others. The final commandment states that man is not to envy the property of his neighbor. Yet the cry of the people is to take the possessions if those who they perceive to be wealthier than themselves and redistribute that wealth. They want things that are not their own, that they haven’t worked for, and they are upset that others have.  And they have rallied behind leaders and revolutionaries that have promised to deliver.  I will be very clear on this point. If you desire to take other people’s stuff, that is the very definition of envy and if you act upon that desire it is theft. And if you elect or empower someone to do it on your behalf you have still committed this same offense. The peoples and nations of the earth have embraced this evil idea, this sickness of the heart. As such I will boldly declare that they have broken the 10th commandment. 

Now obviously this doesn’t apply to all individuals. But if the peoples of this nation and other nations don’t kick out the lawbreakers and those that empower lawbreakers from their public offices and demand leaders that keep the laws of God, and encourage others to keep the laws of God, then the result will be that this unrest and lawlessness will continue and it will affect the nations.  I will even declare if there are any nations that can honestly say that they as a nation keep even one of these commandments they would be spared all the bulk of the crises that come as a result. The storm that is sweeping across the nations is the result of their breaking on a large scale every single one of the basic laws that are required for a society to even function.  

Fulfilling The Law

Now that I have covered then Ten Commandments and expounded upon their meaning, I wish to place emphasis on the fact that all of these commandments are fulfilled when our hearts become changed. When we give up our selfish prideful desires we start to become the saints of God. We don't become his people by living the law outwardly. If we behave rightly, but in our hearts we desire to be wicked, then we are wicked. 

In my blog, I am not trying to promote any particular faith other than faith in a True and Living God. No one religion holds a monopoly on God. All the different denominations can claim all they like about being God's church, but churches are not saved collectively, but rather individual members are saved. In like fashion, a church is a school, but only the students who study and do their assignments will learn the lessons and graduate. We each individually must learn and apply the teachings God has given us in order to obtain the qualities we need to be with Him. 

This is the truth. If it hurts your feelings, I can't help it. It doesn't matter if you are Christian, Jewish, Mormon, or some other denomination. Your church does not have power to save you. No ordinance or ritual will save you. Obedience to the commandments is a good start. If you do not apply the commandments to your hearts and be changed, then no amount of forgiveness will change you into a heavenly being. When you die and leave this mortality, your character is not going to be magically transformed into that of a peaceable, loving, selfless person. God pardoning your sin is not going to change who you are. 

Ego

The three examples I have just given all have something in common. That common element is that man has a tendency to worship himself. Mankind has an inherent ego, a pride in what mankind is and does.

Let's think about it. Money, the first topic I covered is created by man to place some kind of value upon man's efforts. The second item

I discussed was power and influence, man seeks to be honored by other men. Thirdly, we take great pride in what we have created or accomplished in our own eyes. 

Why do they do this?  Because they seek to validate themselves. They want a justification that what they doing is right. They believe in what they call progress. In their pride, they believe that their generations accomplishments are the the greatest that have yet been. They don't want to be told that they need to improve or change themselves. And they by nature desire to gratify their own immediate wants and neglect the wants and needs of others. 

This pride is in direct conflict with becoming like God. It is the great sin, the sin that causes all other sins. In our pride we do not desire to change our characters. We do not desire to change our hearts.  We do not desire to be put through the fire. If we are humble we will take a good look at our own position and standing and see who we really are. And we will see that we are not yet where we need to be. But in pride we refuse to see the truth, and as such become rebels against God. It is impossible to have no other Gods and still have this pride. 

The visions of Daniel demonstrate that the empires that man builds of his own strength will crumble and fall. They may temporarily thrive, but invariably all things made by man are subject to decay. If we put our focus and trust in God and His truth, those things are eternal. In order for us to transcend this world, we must stop worshipping the things of this world. In order for us to gain entrance into Heaven, we must leave this world and its gods behind. That includes ego. 

Celebrities and Idols

In the scriptures it tells that men would make idols of wood and stone, and worship them. To us modern people, this concept seems strange. It seems laughable that people would worship what they had created themselves. But that there is the key I'm hitting at. 

Very often today man worships what they have created. One needs only look around at our proud monuments, our technology, our skyscrapers, our houses, our cities, our cars, etc. These things can better our lives, but it is a fine line. Many people are proud of what we have accomplished as a nation, as a culture, as a society. 

And a culture of worship has arise among these things.  And know where is it more aparent that our worship of culture. We idolize our movies and the actors who play in them, we idolize our singers, we idolize sports and the athletes, and we idolize companies and the products they make. 

These things are very unlike God and serve to distract us, corrupt us, and lead us away from developing the character and attributes we should be pursuing. They encourage selfishness, greed, and vanity. People divide themselves by rank, according to their worldly riches. Those who wear brand name and designer clothes are esteemed by society. People spend outrageous sums of money and time on movies and music, and following what their favorites actors and singers do. 

One can judge what we worship by what we spend our time and energy pursuing.  The idols today are no different than the idols of former generations. We must learn to place God in his proper role, and serve the cause of truth. 

Power and Influence

Another area where people forget God is in seeking power and influence. Money is one way in which it can be obtained or it can be obtained through connections, position in society, deception, favors, etc. 

A truth which the scriptures tell us is that God is no respector of persons. This means that our position in society means nothing to Him. What God does respect is our righteous desires. If we conform our characters to fulfill His commandments and laws then we also serve and honor Him. But when we seek to gain glory to ourselves, we have to commit acts that draw us away from God.  We have to commit our hearts to self exaltation and self worship.  It is impossible to seek the honors of men and serve God at the same time.

I will extend this beyond our own efforts to pursue power to include our honoring of others and the position and power they claim to hold among men. We fear to offend men, when we ought to fear to offend God. We fear being unpopular or rejected. We are willing to be more concerned about what men might think than about our eternal standing. How can we claim to be God's people and honor Him if we fear men more than God?  When we place men's opinions before God, we are very literally worshipping men. 

Money

One of the common gods that people literally worship without fully realizing it is money. Now let's take a moment and really think about it. When we worship someone or something we put our efforts towards that thing and we make sacrifices for it. 

Now money in itself is not the problem. What becomes a problem is that God has asked that we forsake the world and seek after the truth. Now it is a reality that we do need to work to obtain a living and that money is the means of exchange that we typically use. That is part of our reality. 

But the problem is that many people put emphasis on what money can do and what money represents. In our society those that have more money can not only buy more and buy more freely, but they also possess a certain amount of respect and prestige among the world. Money represents a power. Those that have money can control and govern over others. But perhaps I can clarify the problem by asking some questions. Does a person who happens to possess more money also possess character traits like God?  Does he possess love, faith, hope, gratitude, patience?  Is he noble and honorable?  Is he honest and trustworthy?  Wealth is something the world values and respects. But it is not something that God respects and it is not something that makes us better people. 

Many will argue that you need to be successful financially to better serve God. But the reality is that the pursuit of money always takes us away from God. God has commanded that we have no other Gods before Him. If our focus is drawn away to the acquisition of wealth, we are placing wealth before God. And that love of wealth and what it can do for us is the problem I am getting at here. Serve God first, and stop pursuing money. 

Back To the First

Now, you might be wondering why I skipped the first two commandments and elaborated on commandments three through ten. I did not skip them by mistake or because I didn't think them important. On the contrary, I belief them to be the most important, which is why I saved them for the last. 

That reason is that the first two commandments can be hoped for as ideals, but not kept unless the eight commandments that follow are first obeyed. The first commandment is to have no other gods and the second is to not make any graven image. Does it matter one bit if these first two commandments are either kept or broken if the eight afterwards are not understood and followed?  No it does not. Man can pretend to worship God, but if he lies, cheats, steals, covets, kills, or commits adultery then how much does he honor that god?  If a man commits such sins and is a follower of a god, then he is following a lesser god than the one our Bible teaches of.  

The true God has a character composed of the noble and honorable traits and attributes. And the true God wants us to emulate his character. He has laid down these ten commandments as a minimum standard to begin that path. But if we don't keep the last eight which pertain to how we behave and treat our fellow beings, how can we have a good relationship with God?  How can we honor and obey Him and treat Him with dignity and respect if we cannot obey His commandments on how to treat others?  In honoring and obeying the other commandments, we can fulfill the first two most perfectly. 

Seek Not Your Own

Covetousness and envy can be greatly demonstrated by comparison with the opposite. God has commanded us to love one another, to seek to build each other up, and to not seek after our own welfare, but the welfare of others. 

"Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.  Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake:  For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof." 1st Corinthians 10:24-26

This passage brings out some great concepts.  There in the opening line Paul admonishes us to not seek after our own interests, but rather to seek after the interests of others. Then he states that the earth is God's. So can we really feel justified in enriching ourselves while our fellow man is struggling?  Can we really feel that we are acting rightly when we know that the earth is not ours but God's?  

God has instructed us to be stewards of the earth He has placed us on. He asks that we take care of His creation. He has asked that we learn to care for others. How can we do that if we are too consumed in caring for our own interests? The commandment not to covet is a commandment to be unselfish. In order to take part in God's glory we must become like Him. 

My Respect for The Amish

I think my views on this matter can beautifully shown by the way the Amish and the Mennonites choose to live.  Now to be clear, there are some views and practices of the Amish that I don't agree with, but I'm not going into that. And also bear in mind I know that I am stereotyping them here. I am aware that the Amish do vary from one community to another, some permit different practices. But most have this element in common. 

My main focus is on the part of their beliefs where they reject the world and its luxuries and comforts.  In their view, loving the world prevents them from getting closer to God, and that they should be happy and content trying to live within their own means. I respect this attitude greatly. The world criticizes them for this but I think we do need to take a good lesson from them. 

Basically the Amish have taken the last commandment very seriously. Instead of desiring to have what everyone else has, they have chosen to be content with hard work and sacrifice. Now I don't think it's good to do that out of tradition. I do think that it is good to show God that we love him more than we love convenience. 

I think that we can certainly give up much of what we have or want. I think it's fine to have cars, but not to use them as measuring sticks. I think it's alright to have a comfortable home. I think it's fine to have nice clothes. But I don't think it's fine to use them to show our status in our society.

The Amish can show us that they don't need most of the stuff we think we need. And if we could let go of our pride and selfishness, we could give up most of this stuff which actually enslaves us. Yes. Think of it that way. The commandments of God don't exist to control and limit us. Rather they free us from having to bear the natural consequences of breaking them. When God tells us not to covet, he wants us to be free from the chains of covetousness. The Amish in many ways are much freer than most of us. And I believe the Amish as a people are closer to God than most. 

Wants and Needs

The remaining part of this command carries similar themes to the last two, so I'm going to lay out this commandment again in its full form. 

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s." Exodus 20:17

Now where I'm going with this article is this. Much of what people think they need is not a necessity. They only 'need' it because they are trying to keep up with the current trends. Think about it. In the world of fashion, few needs are met, it really boils down to keeping in style. 

Let us use smartphones as an example. Lots of people upgrade to larger, newer, faster models because they think the need a new one. In my experience, if I take care of what I have, it lasts longer, and it suits my needs just fine. Same with cars, computers, homes, clothes, etc. 

So we need to learn how to separate what we want (and why we want it) from our real needs. I'm not saying you can't have luxuries or nice things. But back to pride, do we need it because we need it, or do we need it because our ego needs it?  

Are we really that starved for attention?  Do we really need to impress others in order to be satisfied?  If that worked, then we would be satisfied. But it's not working is it?  The more we seek the indulgence, the less satisfying it becomes. Some of the least happy people are those that have the most earthly goods. And yet why are they always seeking more?  

They want more because it success in the eyes of their peers they are seeking. They want to impress their friends and families. Yes they want the conveniences too and as far as that goes it is fine. But they are looking for happiness in the wrong places. 

There is a path that leads to happiness and it can be walked regardless of these wants and needs. Often our wants are driven by fear that if we don't obtain it that somehow we will lose out on something. This fear leads to regret, an unhappiness over what might have been. That is really sad to regret something that was never even very important, something that was never a necessity.

Jealousy

The next part of the commandment continues on stating :

"...thou shalt not covet thy neighbors wife..." Exodus 20:17

Now again, this is similar to my last article, except now you are replacing possessions with a person. I thought this is an important point to make. On one level, it is the exact same sin as any other covetousness, the primary difference is that now you are additionally committing the sin of devaluing a human being as if they are a thing to have or obtain, that who someone's spouse is makes them lesser or greater. 

This is not uniquely a male trait either. Their are women who envy the husbands of other women. Furthermore their are those that envy the children of others too. They envy the apparent affection they see in others lives, or the means that they have, or their circumstances, or any number of other things. 

Your happiness or unhappiness is not determined by the circumstances of others, and having what others possess is not going to make you happier. We should not be displeased that others have good things. We should learn to be happy that they are happy. We need to learn how to be satisfied with what we have and to be pleased that other have what they are blessed with.  

Jealousy is a fear that you will loose something to someone else.   But the truth is if we fear to loose something, we have lost already. Fear is the opposite of faith, and faith leads to joy and happiness. So if we want to be happy, we have to let go of our jealousies. 

Keeping Up With the Jones'

The last of the Ten Commandments has to do with coveting.  Over the next few articles I want to explore and share what this really means. Some of the aspects of this are covered as parts of the other sins, but all of them have other elements in common. I will start with the first one listed in the scriptures which is:

"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors house. ..." Exodus 20:17

This passage basically refers to looking at what your fellow men possesses and yourself desiring it. Now just to make my point clear, and this is one of the elements I referred to earlier, the common thread of coveting. You would not desire what your neighbor had unless you were comparing yourself with others through wealth and possessions. Coveting would not be possible unless we are attempting to measure our value by what we own. 

So this element is a pride thing. We measure our own worth by the things we own. We try to make a good impression by how nice and fancy our stuff is. We want to have the latest and greatest especially if those around us do. It is pride that drives us to try to outdo others. We need to learn to get rid of this pride, and stop seeing our worth in such terms. It does not make us any less if others do well. Nor does an outward show of earthly success make us any greater. 

Theft and Dishonesty

I have been thinking a lot about this and how I'm going to finish covering these topics of stealing and lies, and the two are intertwined. So in this article, I'm going to lay out a few more of my views on the matter. 

Many people who claim to be following Christ's teachings are dishonest. I know of many men who outwardly are good members of their church.  One in particular that speaks of how greatful he is that he is a member of Christ's true church. Yet this man lies and steals. He lost one business because his reputation got bad enough that he finally had to sell to a friend of his. He made promises he had no intentions of keeping, he wouldn't honor his warranty policy, he cheated his employees, and he cheated his customers. By doing these things he is also cheating himself. 

In the short term his reputation began to hurt his business. But the real damage is what it is costing his salvation. How can even his closest friends trust him?  How can he trust himself?    And of course God can't trust him. He has become a slave. And all the while he comforts himself by claiming to be a member of a certain church.  In the end, that won't help him in the least. He has chosen to live the lie. 

My point in wrapping up these two topics is we need to be honest. If we want to be called members of God's church, we need to behave like it, and we can't be admitted if we are not honest. 

Hypocrisy

The term hypocrisy is defined as: The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform.

The term is especially used to refer to those in religious positions. In any case there are often people who preach of an ideal which they do not conform to. 
A man who preaches morality, chastity, and other virtues, but is not living them is preaching a negative message.  He teaches with his lips things that are good, but by his actions teaches that these things are simply ideals that are not attainable. He teaches that men are too imperfect to actually live godly lives. So by his actions he undos any good his message might have done. 
However, I am not advocating that we need to be perfect in order to teach people.  I am not saying that someone who has weaknesses can't preach.  None of us is perfect in that way. But what I am saying is that we need to be striving to improve ourselves. If we are working towards salvation, and continue to progress, that is a powerful example to others. If we teach with both our words and actions we will be far more effective than if we teach words alone. And the greatest person we hurt if we are guilty of hypocrisy is ourselves. 

Omitting The Truth

Sometimes people deceive others by what they don't tell them. They will omit important information in the hopes that others will be fooled or overlook something that they don't want people to notice. 

Now I'm not talking about withholding information when it's appropriate. There are times when not sharing information is the right thing to do. But when there is relevant information and it is left out in order to lead others with a false conclusion, that is called lying and deception. 

People do this quite often, and tell themselves that it's not lying because they didn't say anything that isn't true. They rationalize that since the other person came to an incorrect conclusion that it's their own fault they were misled. But that was the intention all along, was it not?  Attempting to deceive someone, whether you do it straight out, or do it by strategy is still dishonest and the act is still a lie. 

The intention is really quite telling. Most cases where people do this, it is for one of two reasons. Either the person presenting the story hopes to gain something by presenting the truth in a misleading way, or they are attempting to avoid consequences. Either way, the motivation is dishonest. 

Children's Fantasies

Another area where people often lie but justify it by calling it harmless is the fictional figures. By these I mean things like: Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, Cupid, the Tooth Fairy, storks that deliver babies, and other such things that have infiltrated our culture. 

People seem to have this idea that it is just harmless fun, and that these children should be taught about these things and be allowed to believe in them while they are young. Some people will even go to great lengths to ensure this delusion is preserved for as long as possible. 

The real problem with these beliefs is that it is a lie. We are trying to raise our children to believe in God. We are trying to teach them the stories in the scriptures. And we are trying to teach them the commandments that the prophets have given to us. Now pray tell, how are we supposed to teach our children to have faith in God, and teach them about God, while at the same time teaching them this false stuff too?  How can we expect our children to have confidence in us that we are trying to teach them the truth of God, when we also teach them things that are not true?  

The White Lie

A common misconception is that at times it is ok to lie so long as it's a small lie for a good cause. Our culture calls these 'white lies'. 

A good example is a woman who asks her spouse how she looks in a dress. For one reason or another the truth is that the dress is not attractive, but for the sake of keeping the peace, her spouse tells her she looks nice. In this case he has lied in order to avoid an awkward situation. He lied in order to support her self esteem. 

Another reason why people sometimes do this is to 'protect' someone. A parent might tell a small lie to their children in order to 'preserve their innocence' or 'preserve their childhood'. 

Now here is my major point with this article. At the end of the day, the size of the lie does not matter. When you lie to people, you lie to yourself, you weaken people's confidence in you, and you sell your character cheaply. Telling small lies is not one bit different from telling large lies. In fact, if you can't tell the truth and be honest about little matters, what makes you thing you will be honest in more serious matters?  Large lies almost always start with small lies. 

Now I'm not saying be blunt and rude. I'm saying be honest. If your spouse wears an unattractive article of clothing, tell them they would look better in something else. It does not matter the circumstance. We must strive to always be honest. They will appreciate your telling the truth, as opposed to finding out later on that you lie, so they can't have confidence when they ask such questions.

Summary of Stealing

Because stealing really is such a self explanatory issue I'm really not going to elaborate too much more on it. But I want to leave my readers with an impression. 

Stealing is any act in which you acquire something to which your are not justly entitled. It does not matter how you obtain it. In following this vein of thought, consider this. If you had a job in which you are really paid more that you rightfully need, and you neglect to use your means to assist those less fortunate, you are in a very real sense, stealing. 

When you come to know the truth, can you honestly say that a corporate executives salary is justified in being higher than say a common farmers?  Our society can create extreme economic disparities and injustices. But it is for us to do what is actually right. Someone who is well paid could just as easily help others as to line their own pockets. All the creation is loaned to us for us to use as we see fit, but when we seek to enrich ourselves at the expense of others, we steal that which does not belong to us. No matter the justification, there is right and wrong. And we know what is right and wrong. Learn the differences between your wants and needs, and use your means to do all you can to help. 

Stealing Through Trust

Another area where people will take advantage of others is through positions of trust. Many people can by attaining to certain positions of recognition be empowered to use resources not intended for them. 

By this I don't mean that the people don't steal by abusing that position in betraying people's trust. What I am referring to in this instance is people knowingly giving to people that they trust for various reasons which are being abused. The simplest way for me to explain this is with an example. 

There was a church that appointed a certain man to a position of authority. This man shortly after being put in charge of a region began to change the organization under him. There was a man who had been put in charge of collecting the tithing from the congregation and was also in charge of using the funds to care for widows, orphans, and to take care of church maintenance expenses and charitable projects. The new leader changed this so that tithing money was turned over to himself. Now under the new system, the widows and orphans were still being cared for, church maintenance still seemed to be kept up, etc. But to the observant, it was interesting to note that soon enough this man began to drive a nicer car, have nicer landscaping, got a new suit. 

Now it doesn't take a genious to figure out what's going on. What's interesting is that many people have no problem with this. They consider that so long as the widows, orphans, and maintenance is being taken care of that he is "entitled" to a portion. 

Don't get me wrong, pay your tithing, contribute to your church, help the needy. But if you are called to serve, you are not entitled to financial compensation and still receive an eternal blessing. And as members of a congregation, hold your leaders accountable. 

Stealing Through Guilt

A behavior I have observed practiced by many leaders, employers, workers, families, customers, etc. is this practice of getting others to 'give' them something by making them feel guilty if they do not. These method usually require a half baked truth. For example, there are poor starving children in Africa, so you should give up some money to help. There are people with cancer, so you should donate to help find a cure.  These are some examples of larger non-profit organizations that derive their livelihood from others who mean well. In reality though, how much of your money goes to help others on the opposite side of the globe?  How much of your cash goes to help either cancer patients, or to research actual treatments?  Or is it a scam that enables wealthy 'philanthropists' to get gain off the guilt of others. 

The same thing can be brought to home. A brother may get help from his sister by making her feel guilty if she doesn't. Parents give in to their kids because if they don't they will feel like bad parents. A clerk at a store may issue a refund to an irate customer because they feel like they have done wrong, but in reality the customer may be using the situation to their benefit. The list could go on. 

I'm not saying that we shouldn't seek aid when we need it, or that we shouldn't help those around us. But I am saying that some people know how to manipulate others to get what they want. And they know that what they are doing is wrong. If you trick someone into giving you something, it is still theft. I am not saying to judge or suspect others of doing this. So what I am saying, is examine yourself honestly, and if you do this, stop. This is not the behavior of a Christian.  As sons and daughters of a loving God, we ought to treat each other as such.