Deceit

So the theme for this week was deceit.  The simplest definition of deceit being: trying to be deliberately dishonest. Knowing something was wrong and still doing it.

Since I was on the look out for deceit - or any kind of deliberate dishonesty, I was surprised at how many times I was confronted with a chance to choose. Sometimes it was hard, since life isn't always black and white, absolutely right or absolutely wrong. At times the choice was easy, other times the lines seemed to blur together into grey.

I have seen that today it is popular to believe that there is no absolute truth, that truth is relative and can be interpreted as seen fit. What would be seen as wrong for one person, is perfectly acceptable for another. The mere idea makes my head spin! How am I suppose to rightly decide what is truly right and wrong? Who is the author of the original truth?

I am very thankful that from a young age my parents instilled in me a good moral conscience. I remember learning the hard way that stuffing the pockets of my favorite dress with stickers without paying was called stealing. That lying about what I really did to my friend's toy was wrong, and that biting my older brother when he made me mad was unacceptable. He did deserve it though....
But who originally set the moral standard that my parents raised me by?

Answer? The Bible.
Proverbs 1:7 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (good judgement)..."

God is the original and perfect standard bearer of what is right and wrong. He alone can truly and rightly judge what is good and bad. While I am not God, I do have the Bible, His words as guidelines.
The best example being the 10 commandments. Now here is a clear list of moral standards that I can base my life and morals after:

1  -  You shall have no other gods before me
2  -  You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. ...for I the Lord your God am a jealous God..
3  -  You shall not take the name of the LORD in vain
4  -  Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy
5  -  Honor your father and your mother
6  -  You shall not murder
7  -  You shall not commit adultery
8  -  You shall not steal
9  -  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
10 -  You shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife....

So, whenever a situation comes up, I use the Bible and its principles as my moral compass to guide me in making the wisest decision.

 Knowing what is good and bad, right or wrong is half the battle. Making the decision to do the right thing is the hard part. It isn't always a clear choice, but I hope that by using the Bible and wisdom, that I can make the choices, give good advice, and live a life that is pleasing and acceptable to God. People won't always be pleased with your decision.

I leave you with this picture that hangs in my dad's office. It has served as a constant reminder to me that it is not always easy to do the right thing.