Always be honest

One day a clergyman was walking down the street when he saw a group of boys surrounding a dog. “What are you doing?” he demanded. One of the boys replied, “He’s a neighborhood stray. We all want him, but only one of us can take him home. So we’ve decided whoever can tell the biggest lie will get to keep him.” The preacher declared, “You boys shouldn’t be having a contest that involves lying!” Then he launched into a sermon beginning with, “It’s a sin to lie,” and ending with, “When I was your age, I never told a lie.” There was dead silence for a minute. Then just as he was beginning to think he’d gotten through to the boys, one of them gave a deep sigh and said, “All right, give the preacher the dog!” Seriously, here’s the downside of lying: (1) You always have to remember what you said, and your memory just isn’t that good, so chances are you’ll be exposed. (2) You have to live with yourself knowing you lied and violated your character. That’s hard to do. (3) When you decide to pray, the first thing that will come to your mind is the last thing you’ll want to discuss with God—your lies. (4) Contrary to what you may think, forbidden fruit isn’t sweet, it’s sour. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV). You’ll have to live with the taste of that lie in your mouth. Wouldn’t it be better just to be honest?