Lie-ons
I can remember stopping my bike, taking out my report card and changing a grade when I saw my Mamaw’s car in our driveway. I remember getting caught smoking cigarettes at a friend’s house. And the time I let a sweet girl take the fall for singing the words wrong when it was really me...because those wrongs are burned in my memory, along with others. The dumb lies that wouldn’t have gotten me as much trouble as I ended up with if I had just told the truth in the first place.
Why is it so hard to just tell the truth? To do what we know is right?
Lately I’ve realized how much easier it is to just fess up. And it’s WAY better to just do the right thing in the first place, but I’m human and I don’t always think of all angles when I do stuff so I make mistakes.
Like the basketball players who raise their hands when they know they’ve committed a foul! E’rbody seen it, no denyin’...my bad.
I’ve heard so many people say that if they could choose a Bible character to be, they’d chose Paul.
Not me.
I’m not big on suffering and I REALLY hate to be confined, especially if it restricts the use of my hands...so I might choose Daniel.
Why?
So glad you are inclined to find out!
First off, Daniel was chosen. He was set apart for his character and his intelligence. He was smart in many ways, could interpret dreams, was humble and he knew God.
Daniel lived a modest life by choice. Kings desired to decorate him, and they did, but Daniel really didn’t want all the pomp and circumstance, he just wanted to live right. Live for God and do what God wanted him to do. That to me is brilliant.
He paid attention. I imagine Daniel to be the guy that watched things and kept his mouth shut. I don’t read about him mingling with crowds and telling them all about his dreams and how good he was at figuring out what they meant. There weren’t parties where he went around telling people what their dreams meant. He was smart.
My favorite thing about Daniel is his trust for truth to prevail.
When the king got haughty and started throwing his flash and fancy around, drinking out of the goblets that didn’t belong to him, and loving all his possessions, Daniel didn’t partake. And when the kings “friends” or “nobles”...counsel you might say, decided to change the rules of the kingdom to trap Daniel, he didn’t fall for it. Nope. Daniel stayed true to his faithfulness and his beliefs...and continued to put God first. He didn’t stop doing what was right even though it meant certain death.
How many of us can say that?
If we were faced with punishment, suffering...losing our freedoms even, would we cave? Would we stand up for what is right? What is true?
Daniel marched right up to his room, threw open his windows and bowed to the God of Heaven, and then was thrown into the lion’s den and we know what happened then.
God was there, Daniel was not touched and once he was let out of the den the king announced that everyone in the kingdom must fear and reverence the God of Daniel for He is the living God and He endures forever.
And He does. Still today.
Truth prevails. It always does. I pity anyone who has to live with the constant conviction of their deceit. Lies are worse than anything I can imagine. Death is not a threat to me, I welcome it every single day. Threaten me with nausea...different story. But truthfully, as much as I don’t want to be tested, I keep my God close. And I pray that my faith isn’t wavered no matter what threatens me, and that I don’t ever forget that truth is the best way-the only way. And that it always wins.
*Daniel 5, 6
Specifically: 5:1-4, 5:16-17, 29 6:6-8, 6:13, 16, (*24) 6:26-27
