May 11, 2018

The Little Things Reveal Truth

The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live.

– Proverbs 15:27

Have you ever sold anything on Facebook with one of those buy/sell groups? It surely does attract all kinds of people. It’s amazing what some of them will do to get what they want.

Some people think nothing about using a private message to try and get ahead of a pending sale. I guess they think it’s okay. It’s just business, you know. It’s okay to try and outmaneuver someone else to get what you want. It’s not really dishonest. Everyone does it.

Except it is dishonest and, no, not everyone does it. There’s a reason why most of the sites ban this type of behavior. It’s just wrong.

I doubt the people doing this really see themselves as dishonest. They’re just playing the game of life, trying to win. It’s just a little compromise. The only trouble with little compromises is that after a while they start to add up, leading to even bigger compromises. And pretty soon your life has headed in a direction you never intended to take.

It’s like the person who helps himself to pens or a notebook from his workplace. Everyone does it. Then it’s an easy step to padding expenses because, again, everyone does it. Where does it stop? What’s the line you won’t cross? Because stealing is stealing, no matter how small or how large the amount.

We like to point fingers, don’t we? Everyone does it so that makes it all okay. Or, he was going to do it and I just did it first. That’s another good excuse. We feel like victors when we take advantage of someone so we can get a bargain. There’s no guilt in our hearts. How sad is that?

During this season of life, I’ve found that those who preach the loudest are the ones most likely to try and take advantage of me. In the name of Jesus, of course. I doubt they even consider what their testimony looks like for those looking in at them from the outside world. People don’t see a man of God. They see a hypocrite. They see someone they don’t want to be.

A sweet friend this morning noted that we may be the only Bible some people ever read. It’s a common saying but that doesn’t lesson its truth. You can say all the right things but, at the end of the day, it’s what your actions say that reveals your heart. Are you taking what isn’t yours to take? Are you attempting to deceive, to destroy, to harm? Are you dishonest in the small things of life? Are you a cutthroat businessman? Do you judge what you don’t know?

Integrity pops up at the oddest times. So does dishonesty. It’s the little things that, when added together, make a life. What does your life say about you?