Liar, Liar (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on April 30, 2011 by Margaret

Most of us have seen Jim Carrey’s 1997 movie “Liar, Liar.” As a successful lawyer famous for twisting the truth to get ahead, his character repeatedly disappoints his little boy, Max, by failing to show up when he says he will. He even misses Max’s birthday, causing Max to realize his daddy has a lying problem. Max blows out his candles with a secret wish that his daddy will have to tell the truth for the next 24 hours.

Max’s birthday wish comes true immediately, and his daddy can’t make himself tell a lie or even withhold part of the truth. He stutters, stumbles over words, tries to hurt himself to avoid telling the truth and eventually makes a hopeless mess of himself.

In the end, he comes to see that Max is more important than business success, and the happy ending shows a truth-telling father and son spending quality time together.

Although the movie is hilarious, the truth of “Liar, Liar” is that the majority of people lie routinely without so much as a twinge of guilt. A new book, Tangled Webs (James Stewart), details the problem. He says lying was originally a crime against God, condemned in the Bible. But with time and a watering down of our spiritual commitment as a nation, guilt is no longer a pressure, and lying is rampant.

Mr. Stewart tells the stories of four famous liars: Bernie Madoff, Barry Bonds, Martha Stewart and Scooter Libby. These and many others have told the ultimate in lies, lying in court while under oath. Perjury is high-risk lying, and all four have paid in spades.

Interestingly, these celebrities didn’t get charged for their criminal behaviors. Instead they went to prison for lying about that (at least three of them, since one has only recently been convicted). Was lying worth their losses?

I can’t wag my finger at a liar, though, having stretched the truth many times. It was fascinating to hear the author of Tangled Webs wonder aloud during a radio interview where this “epidemic of lying” originated.

He assigned blame, at least partially, to parents not teaching the value of truth to children. But his interviewer said, “I think lying is in all of us.” She was right. We all want to make ourselves look good, and Satan, a professional liar, coaches us on how to do that. But God, the ultimate in truth, tells us there are 7 things he hates, and in that short list, 2 of them are lying. (Proverbs 6)

Scripture details the laws of lying: (1) if we tell one lie, we’ll have to tell more; (2) lying always hurts others; and (3) the truth will come out. Thinking of these irrefutable laws motivates me to tell the whole truth.

I want God to be pleased with me, not to hate what I do or say. And telling the truth is a sure way to win his approval.

(Tomorrow: the telling of a whopper.)
”Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord.” (Zechariah 8:17)

A “B Plan”

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Margaret

Just outside the front windows of our Illinois house was a small tree covered with springtime blossoms. One April day we noticed a bird’s nest tucked in its branches, topped with a mama blue jay. So we began bird-watching from a nearby window, checking every day for babies.

Our cat Kennedy was also watching, and several times I saw her stretching tall from the back of the couch, peering out at the mother bird. She had no interest in eggs, though, only what was inside them.

Kennedy had been a rescued kitten given to Hans on his 12^th birthday, picked up while wandering across Chicago’s Kennedy Expressway. She was puppylike-friendly but morphed into a hunter every night, insisting on being let out as the rest of us went to bed. In the morning she’d often arrive with a gift, a dead mouse, chipmunk or small bunny dangling from her mouth. None of us liked this part of Kennedy but knew it was nature’s way.

Through the window, we worried about the baby blue jays but hoped their protective mama would keep Kennedy at bay. I remember the day the eggs hatched. We kept the cat indoors while several of us perched at the window to watch, but suddenly there she was, at the tree.

Hans bolted out the front door to grab her, but it was too late. She was already in the branches fighting with the mother blue jay, who appeared to be winning. Hans raced to the garage and reappeared with a board, shouting and swinging at his beloved pet, desperate to force her down. But within seconds it was all over, and Kennedy had had her way.

All of us were devastated, and my heart went out to the mama bird. She’d been faithful to her task, then was robbed of her reward. Although we were mad at Kennedy, we couldn’t blame her for doing what God had taught her to do.

Sometimes people-lives parallel that of mama blue jay. We meet our responsibilities, work hard and do the right things, but disaster strikes anyway. Money is diligently saved, then lost in a recession. A parent pours heart and soul into raising a child, who then turns against her/him. Someone leads a healthy lifestyle but gets sick anyway. A business is built on moral principles but goes bankrupt.

We usually can’t explain these misfortunes and wonder why bad things happen to good people, especially if “God is good.” But that’s where faith comes in. Do we really believe he’s good, and good to us? If so, we have to trust that even “bad” stuff has “good” purposes.

After Kennedy destroyed the mama blue jay’s future, I stayed at the window watching her. What would she do now? She sat on the porch railing nearby, focused on the tree, squawking intensely for about 5 minutes. Then she flew off in search of Plan B and never returned.

It’s often excruciating to surrender our A Plans. But when we’re ready, God’s B Plan is ready, too.

“The righteous… do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly.” (Psalm 112:6-8)

Giver of Life

Posted on April 28, 2011 by Margaret

When I was two (1947), Santa brought me my first baby doll. She had a cloth body, a hard plastic head, and was about the size of a real newborn. Something inside clicked when I first held her, and from then on, she was my constant companion. I named her Becky and lovingly cared for her.

By the time I was 7, I began wishing Becky would come to life. Some little girls beg their mommies to have another baby, but I didn’t want that. I wanted Becky to be my baby, not mom’s.

In Sunday school I’d been taught two important concepts: (1) God said we could ask him for anything, and (2) God could do anything he wanted. So every night before I went to bed, I tucked Becky into her doll crib and prayed over her. “Dear Jesus, please turn Becky into a real baby.”

That first morning when I found she was still a lifeless doll, I was baffled. God had made Adam real from clay, so I didn’t doubt he could “fix” Becky, too. With confidence and determination, I decided to pray every night until he granted my request.

If ever the expression “faithful in prayer” applied, it was then. I didn’t miss a night, asking God again and again to bring Becky to life. Wasn’t he hearing me? Didn’t he understand the request or my longing for it? Wasn’t I good enough to get one favor from God? Did he lie when he said he could do anything?

Most of us find ourselves asking those same questions even as adults. We pray for something worthwhile, and when it doesn’t happen, we question God’s wisdom and our faith in him. We wonder if the scriptural promises are true and if they are, why they don’t apply to us.

As a young girl in a faith crisis, I finally went to Mom. She explained that God had indeed heard all my prayers and had even answered them all… with a “no”. According to her, God knew a third grade girl couldn’t care for a real baby. She said, “Who would babysit when you were in school or out playing?” I didn’t have an answer.

For the most part I bought her reasoning, but inwardly I was frustrated with God. If he was going to say “no”, he could have at least given me the reason. But even now, 60 years later, he doesn’t usually give reasons for why he says “no” to prayers. Instead he wants me to trust that he does hear me and answers according to what’s best for me.

In my case, the “no” about Becky was permanent. I still have her, and she’s still a lifeless doll. But behind that childhood “no” God quietly whispered a “wait”. Actually it was more like, “But just you wait!” Twenty years later, when the time was right, he changed his “wait” to “yes”!

And along came Nelson, Lars, Linnea, Klaus, Hans, Louisa and Birgitta, 7 real live babies.

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)