150 Sermon Illustrations on Honesty

David Casstevens of the Dallas Morning News tells a story about Frank

Szymanski, a Notre Dame center in the 1940s, who had been called as a witness

in a civil suit at South Bend.

"Are you on the Notre Dame football team this year?" the judge asked.

"Yes, Your Honor."

"What position?"

"Center, Your Honor."

"How good a center?"

Szymanski squirmed in his seat, but said firmly: "Sir, I'm the best center

Notre Dame has ever had."

Coach Frank Leahy, who was in the courtroom, was surprised. Szymanski always

had been modest and unassuming. So when the proceedings were over, he took

Szymanski aside and asked why he had made such a statement. Szymanski

blushed.

"I hated to do it, Coach," he said. "But, after all, I was under oath."

----------------

By David Casstevens from Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul, Copyright 1996

by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Patty Hansen

#2845

*

A recent movie by Robert Redford highlights an interesting episode in our history. In 1958 the most successful program on TV was a quiz show called “21.” Two contestants in sound booths were given extremely hard questions, and if their score came to 21 they earned tens of thousands of dollars. Each week an armored car picked up the sealed envelope of questions from a bank vault and delivered it with great fanfare at the NBC headquarters in New York.

The greatest contestant of all was a handsome genius named Charles Van Doren. He came from a noted family of professors and writers and for weeks he beat every contestant that faced him.

What the viewers didn’t know was that the show was rigged. Contestants were given the questions and answers just before the show, and if the ratings were falling they were told to give a wrong answer so someone more photogenic could be put in. The show made millions for NBC and the sponsor Geritol until a sharp congressional lawyer named Richard Goodwin became suspicious. He hounded Van Doren to tell the truth and one night the two were walking on a tree-lined street. Goodwin told a story from his family. It seems that his Uncle Harold had told his wife that he had had an affair. As Goodwin put it, it was “mildly upsetting.” Van Doren rolled his eyes and asked, “Mildly?” Goodwin told him he had to put it in context - the affair had been over for more than eight years. He asked his uncle, why’d you tell her? You got away with it!

At this point the lawyer leans toward Van Doren and softly says, “I’ll never forget what he said. It was the getting away part that he couldn’t live with.”

There is more to the story. A few days later the congressional committee investigating the television scandal had Van Doren testify. To everyone’s surprise the young genius read out a full, heart-felt confession. When he concluded, one senator after another commended him for his honesty, something they rarely encountered. But one senator had the last word. He was glad Van Doren had given his confession, but he couldn’t agree with his colleagues. He said, “I don’t think an adult of your intelligence ought to be commended for simply, at long last, telling the truth.” With this, the audience rose in a thunderous applause.

"You can't tell people for two or three generations, as even some theologians have, that truth is relative and that nothing is absolute - and then expect them to produce justice. . . . You can't tell people that truth is relative and expect them to produce good government, worthwhile education, or honest business. So it's not just a little tinkering here and there that is necessary to get our confidence in the court systems back again. . . . No system of any kind works when the people have lost their way."

Lottie Moon (1840-1912), patron saint of Southern Baptist Missions.

"The best man among our missionaries." That's how the Southern Baptist Missions' journal hailed Lottie Moon, 72, when she died on Christmas Eve, 1912, after a lifetime of work in China. Moon had bucked the chauvinist limitations placed on missionary women. She also succeeded in rooting the gospel among the Chinese in ways unprecedented in Baptist missions.

Reared in an aristocratic Virginian family during the Civil War, this highly cultured and educated Southern belle made an unlikely missionary candidate: she viewed Christianity with skepticism during her college years. But her family influenced her even more. She had an uncle, James Barclay, who was the first Christian Church missionary to Jerusalem, a devout mother, who prayed for her salvation, and a younger sister, who preceded Moon to China (by several years) and would eventually invite Moon to join her. Moon experienced a crisis conversion during her graduate studies, then taught school for several years while she prepared to follow her sister to China. She refused a marriage proposal from C. H. Toy, a man with missionary plans of his own and a future Harvard professor: though she loved him, she didn't think his acceptance of Darwin's theory of evolution made them a good match.

In China she served as a school teacher but soon felt this traditional woman's role limited her evangelistic gifts. "Can we wonder at the mortal weariness and disgust," she wrote in the Baptist missions periodical, "the sense of wasted powers and the conviction that her life is a failure that comes over a woman when, instead of the ever broadening activities she had planned, she finds herself tied down to the petty work of teaching a few girls. She added, "What women want who come to China is free opportunity to do the largest possible work.... What women have a right to demand is perfect equality."

Differing philosophically with her male field director in China, Moon, now a seasoned missionary and 44 years old, moved to P'ing-tu, where she attempted to begin a church. Initially the work was difficult and discouraging, but soon Moon reported she had found "something I had never seen before in China. Such eagerness to learn! Such spiritual desires!" And, she added, "Surely there can be no deeper joy than that of saving souls."

One such soul was Li Shou Ting, who became pastor of the church and, in the two decades that followed, baptized more than a thousand converts.

This joy, however, turned to despair during a severe famine in Henchow. She spent her last years pleading for funds and food for the starving thousands. With little help forthcoming from the United States, she emptied her own bank account, but still there was so much need. She lapsed into depression and quit eating. Her health declined, and finally she died.

Nonetheless, her legacy lives on. Eighty five years after her death, the Southern Baptists annually raise millions of mission dollars through the "Lottie Moon Christmas Offering."

#4007

*

A husband and wife are talking. The wife says, "Darling, why don't you play golf with Harry any more?"

Husband: "Would you play with a sneak who puts down the wrong score and moves his ball when you aren't looking?"

"Certainly not," she answers.

Husband: "Well, neither will Harry."

#4259

*

Four high school boys were late to their morning classes one day. They entered the classroom and solemnly told their teacher they were detained due to a flat tire. The sympathetic teacher smiled and told them it was too bad they were late because they had missed a test that morning. But she was willing to let them make it up. She gave them each a piece of paper and a pencil and sent them to four corners of the room. Then she told them they would pass if they could answer just one question:

Which tire was flat?

-- Paul Harvey

This story, told by Paul Harvey illustrates in a humorous way a facet of our behavior which is not at all funny to God. It has been said, "As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand."

---------------------------------------------------

Another version, from Rev. Dick Lewis:

At Duke University, there were four sophomores taking Organic Chemistry.

They did so well on all the quizzes, midterms and labs, etc., that each had, up to that point, an "A" for the semester. These four friends were so confident, that the weekend before finals they decided to go up to University of Virginia and party with some friends up there. They had a great time; however, after all the hardy partying, they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, they decided to find their professor after the final and explain to him why they missed it.

They explained that they had gone to UVA for the weekend with the plan to come to study, but unfortunately, they had a flat tire on the way back. To make matters worse, they didn't have a spare and couldn't get help for a long time. As a result, they missed the final.

The Professor thought it over and then agreed they could make up the final the following day. The guys were elated and relieved. They studied that night and went in the next day at the time the professor had told them. He placed them in separate rooms, handed each of them a test booklet, and told them to begin. They looked at the first problem, worth 5 points, something simple about free radical formation. "Cool," they thought at the same time, each one in his separate room, "this is going to be easy." Each finished the problem and then turned the page.

On the second page was written: (For 95 points): Which tire?

#4409

*

Both versions below are derived from the book “I Like Church, But...” by Dan Lupton.

In February of 1996 there was a story in the Chicago Daily Herald. The headline read: “Fairy tale princess story turns sour after newlyweds lose money.” What had happened was that this young couple, very much in love, were leaving their wedding reception in the small hours of the morning and with getting things into the car, etc., the groom laid the large manila envelope filled with cash and checks given as gifts, on top of the car. It was just over $12,000. They drove off with it on the car.... But, of course, it didn’t stay there long. When they got to their hotel, they discovered it was gone and, thinking back, they knew just what had happened.

The newspaper picked up the sad story and it touched the hearts of everyone... Two days later, the paper ran a follow-up story. The title, “Finder’s Keepers. Not all believe it.”

It seems that a man named David Yi, an unemployed resident of the community, found the package, looked inside, remembered the newspaper article, and returned it to the couple. Yi said, “[What’s the big deal.] Whether it was $50 or $1,000 or a million, it wasn’t mine. It’s just [a matter] of right and wrong.”

I wonder what I would do? I’m unemployed. My savings are tapped out. Jobs don’t seem to be available. The mortgage is due... And I find a bag of checks and cash... I probably can’t do much with the checks, but nobody knows exactly how much cash is there...

Well, apparently there is a market for integrity. Motorola, Ameritech, Sony, Hilton Hotels, and a Hyundai dealer all contacted Yi and offered him a job...

You know, Mr. Yi wouldn’t take any of those jobs he was offered. He said he would only consider taking a job for which he was qualified and not one offered solely on the basis of his doing the right thing.... Such integrity is phenomenal. I like to think he is a Christian man - I know God would be proud of him. He did what was expected of each of us.

________

Rev. Steven B. Schafer

Mt. Hope Congregational Church

Livonia, Michigan

=====================================

Another version by Rev. Gary Kirschke,

pastor of Risen Christ Lutheran Church; Stillwater, Minnesota

“Fairy tale turns sour as newlyweds lose money.” That headline grabbed the attention of millions in Chicago. A newly-married couple, driving away from their wedding reception, left a black case containing all the money they had received as gifts – nearly $12,000 -- on the roof of the car. By the time they reached home, of course, it was gone. “I feel awful,” said the bride when she was interviewed.

Two days later, the newspaper carried this headline: “Finders keepers? Not all believe it.” David Yi, an unemployed suburban resident, found the bag containing the $12,000. With his bills adding up, he might have kept the money. Who would have known? But David Yi found the newlyweds and returned their lost money. He didn’t even consider keeping it. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s 12 or 12,000,000 dollars,” he said. “It doesn’t belong to you. You just have to do what’s right.”

Apparently there is a market for unemployed people with integrity. David has received job offers from Motorola, Sony and the Hilton Hotel chain. A Hyundai dealer offered him an office and a company car. David is perplexed; he can’t understand how a simple act of honesty can draw so much attention. But to a world that witnesses so little integrity, David Yi’s behavior is big news.

David Yi knew what he believed... and it showed...showed in all of his life. He not only returned $12,000 to the newly-weds; a friend recalled how – a year before – he found $50... and then found the rightful owner to return the money. During a TV interview, David reported that he would only accept a job for which he was qualified. He was not equipped, he said, to be any kind of manager.

*

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #25635]

Forty-three years seems like a long time to remember the name of a mere acquaintance. I have duly forgotten the name of an old lady who was a customer on my paper route when I was a twelve-year-old boy in Marinette, Wisconsin back in 1954. Yet it seems like just yesterday that she taught me a lesson in forgiveness that I can only hope to pass on to someone else someday.

On a mindless Saturday afternoon, a friend and I were throwing rocks onto the roof of the old lady's house from a secluded spot in her backyard. The object of our play was to observe how the rocks changed to missiles as they rolled to the roof's edge and shot out into the yard like comets falling from the sky.

I found myself a perfectly smooth rock and sent it for a ride. The stone was too smooth, however, so it slipped from my hand as I let it go and headed straight for a small window on the old lady's back porch. At the sound of fractured glass, we took off from the old lady's yard faster than any of our missiles flew off her roof.

I was too scared about getting caught that first night to be concerned about the old lady with the broken porch window. However, a few days later, when I was sure that I hadn't been discovered, I started to feel guilty for her misfortune. She still greeted me with a smile each day when I gave her the paper, but I was no longer able to act comfortable in her presence.

I made up my mind that I would save my paper delivery money, and in three weeks I had the seven dollars that I calculated would cover the cost of her window. I put the money in an envelope with a note explaining that I was sorry for breaking her window and hoped that the seven dollars would cover the cost for repairing it.

I waited until it was dark, snuck up to the old lady's house, and put the envelope of retribution through the letter slot in her door. My soul felt redeemed and I couldn't wait for the freedom of, once again, looking straight into the old lady's eyes.

The next day, I handed the old lady her paper and was able to return the warm smile that I was receiving from her. She thanked me for the paper and said, "Here, I have something for you." It was a bag of cookies. I thanked her and proceeded to eat the cookies as I continued my route.

After several cookies, I felt an envelope and pulled it out of the bag. When I opened the envelope, I was stunned. Inside was the seven dollars and a short note that said, "I'm proud of you."

___________________

By Jerry Harpt, from A 5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Copyright 1998 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

My wife's honesty was the slap in the face I didn't want - but needed.

Jana was forking the last bite of an order of banana pancakes into her mouth when our conversation screeched to a halt. I was frustrated because my father had turned down our request for a loan to use as a down payment on a house. I launched into a tirade. My face reddened, I pounded the table, I vented. "This is the way it has always been. My brother gets what he wants, but not me."

Jana might as well have twisted her fork into my stomach, for her next words were: "We've been having this same discussion for the past two years. Every time you talk about your family, your face gets red and you pound the table. I don't know what to say anymore. I think you need to see a counselor."

I felt the blood drain from my face as I mumbled something about needing someone who really listened to me. I felt hurt, even betrayed, by Jana's forthright comments. But I couldn't shake her words. A few weeks later I found a counselor who, in the course of several months, helped me locate the source of much of my unresolved anger. I was forced to look into the fiery furnace.

The words of Proverbs 15:4 are true: "The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life ..." Jana's truthtelling launched me on a journey that invited the presence of Christ into a back corner of my soul. She had exercised an unpleasant kindness; she had served me by telling the truth.

TRUTH'S PAINFUL TASK

In the book RESIDENT ALIENS, Duke University professors Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon state, "Ultimately, there is for us only one good reason to get married or to stay single, namely, that this has something to do with our discipleship." For Jana and me, as followers of Christ, discipleship means we are called to serve one another with the truth. "Even in marriage between Christians," write Willimon and Hauerwas, "we meet as strangers unable to tell one another the truth. Yet Christians believe that nothing is more important in marriage than truthfulness."

I don't mean to imply that Jana and I confront each other regularly. We don't. Doing so too often would break down trust and create a climate of legalism. The times we do, however, we try to break the news with gentleness and grace, employing "I feel" statements rather than "you always" indictments.

There isn't always a pain-free way to tell the truth, but the alternative is a marriage built around a series of covert compromises. "People often lie most readily in marriage," write Willimon and Hauerwas, "exactly because they fear losing the intimacy they have achieved to that point. They know that nothing can kill the fires of passion quicker than truth."

Truth may initially douse the fires of passion, but over time it creates new possibilities for genuine intimacy -- the intimacy that comes with being fully known by another. The gust of God's grace now blowing through our marriage is experienced in a little more transparency, a little more honesty, and, consequently, a little more intimacy.

SELF-SERVING OR SPOUSE-SERVING?

When Jana served me by speaking the truth in love, it cost her something. She had to endure my angry response, and then my sullenness. There have been other times when I had to endure some personal sacrifice in the process of serving my wife.

A few months after we moved from Colorado to Illinois, Jana and I drove in a cold spring rain to Door County, Wisconsin, a beautiful, timbered resort area. We hoped the weekend would warm up, but things turned a lot colder on Sunday when I made a flippant remark about the church Jana grew up in. Our recent move to Illinois put us in Jana's hometown, and we were in the process of deciding whether to attend her home church. The covert pressure I felt from Jana and her family irked me.

We finally settled on Jana's home church, and we've been attending there for several years. But for much of that time, I've carped and criticized: "The church is poorly organized"; "It's friendly only to the insiders"; "It's too bound by tradition." It wasn't that I didn't like the people in the church; it's just that, well, I didn't get my way.

Looking back, I know our decision was right, and my attitude was all wrong. Yes, I was making a sacrifice for Jana's sake -- but I did my best to make sure she knew it. This kind of honesty was destructive: It was self-serving rather than spouse-serving. Recently I declared a truce by confessing my fault to Jana and promising to change my attitude.

As I've reflected on my sniveling, I've been dismayed to realize I'm not the person I imagined myself to be. I want to reflect the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." I like to remember the times when I live out those traits. But I also have to admit that the fruits I sometimes display come from another tree, also found in Galatians 5: "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious ... discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy ..."

Serving my wife is much easier to trumpet than to live out. But the gust of God's grace is at work. I am now a little more aware of my tendency not to think of someone other than myself. And I'm grappling with the importance of the gift of sacrifice in our marriage.

DISPLEASING SERVICE

A red rose after a wintry contest of wills. A cup of hazelnut coffee with cream and sugar while Jana blow-dries her hair before work. A Hallmark card slipped under her pillow that she finds only after I've left for a business trip.

I've gladly given each of these to my wife. I enjoy pleasing her and hearing her say, "Honey, that was so special." Yet I've discovered that I'd much rather please my wife than truly serve her. Pleasing her often triggers a gratifying response, while serving her may, at first, not please either one of us.

The red rose and the Hallmark card are nice expressions of love. But Jana's insistence that I had a real problem with my anger was a beautiful expression of her love for me, no matter how difficult it was for me to accept. And my choice to attend the church she preferred was also an expression of love. Gifts of truth and sacrifice have a value that lasts long beyond the moment.

Ten years ago, my family buried our Russian-German grandfather in a patch of South Dakota prairie with a headstone that reads: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5). The verse preceding that one reads, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others" (Phil. 2:4). And one of the verses following it reads, "But [Christ] made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant ..." (Phil. 2:7).

The very nature of a servant. That was the mindset of Christ. And that is the mindset I want to live out in my marriage.

______________________

Dave Goetz is senior associate editor of Leadership journal. He and Jana live in the Chicago area with their son.

Copyright(c) 1996 by Christianity Today, Inc/MARRIAGE PARTNERSHIP Magazine.

Winter 1996, Vol. 13, No. 4, Page 12

"Hello, is this Pastor Smith?"

"It is."

"This is the IRS. Can you help us?"

"I can."

"Do you know Sam Johnson?"

"I do."

"Is he a member of your congregation?"

"He is."

"Did he donate $10,000?"

"He will."

The president of a large international construction company was once asked why his company did not work in countries where bribes and graft were a way of life. He responded, "We never build in those countries, no matter how profitable the project may appear, because we can't afford to. If my employees know we are acting dishonestly, they will eventually become thieves. Their dishonesty will ultimately cost us more than we could ever earn on a project."

In an issue of Moody Monthly, George Sweeting wrote about the desperate need for honesty in our culture. He referred to Dr. Madison Sarratt, who taught mathematics at Vanderbilt University for many years. Before giving a test, the professor would admonish his class something like this: "Today I am giving two examinations - one in trigonometry and the other in honesty. I hope you will pass them both. If you must fail one, fail trigonometry. There are many good people in the world who can't pass trig, but there are no good people in the world who cannot pass the examination of honesty."

Truth-telling is unquestionably an issue in our society: One attorney researcher in The American Lawyer (journal) wrote about an experiment she had conducted: At random called 13 lawyers in NYC and told them this phony story:

Six months ago I was walking up Broadway toward 70th Street. While

daydreaming I stumbled over a curb and fell. Dazed and bruised I got

up and supported myself on a Consolidated Edison construction barrier

two to three feet away. Later I went to the hospital and learned I

had ruptured a disk. Pain persisted and I've been out of work for

past six months. Do I have a case for a lawsuit vs. anybody?"

Eight of 13 said no. Five said yes. One: "All we have to do is bend the facts a little." Another: "Don't have to lie - just say you fell 2-3 feet over from where you did." Another: "Come by my office and let me refresh your memory as to how that accident really happened; I'm sure we have a case."

FEATURE: DOEBLER: Top 10 Exaggerations (By Rich Doebler and the LEADERSHIP editors)

Sometimes pastors hear themselves saying something that may not be completely true...

1. "I want your honest feedback."

2. "I could be happy pastoring this church for the rest of my ministry."

3. "Feel free to call me at home anytime."

4. (to another pastor) "I hear only good things about your church."

5. "Great--everything has been going just great."

6. "It won't take much of your time."

7. "We have an exciting service planned."

8. "My spouse would love to."

9. (to your spouse) "The calendar will lighten up in a week or so."

10. (to a critic) "It took a lot of courage for you to share that with me."

Lexicon of Intentionally Ambiguous Recommendations, or LIAR.

Here are some examples:

*To describe an inept person--"I enthusiastically recommend this

candidate with no qualifications whatsoever."

*To describe an ex-employee who had problems getting along with

fellow worders--"I an pleased to say that this candidate is a

former colleague of mine."

*To describe an unproductive candidate--"I can assure you that no

person would be better for the job."

*To describe an applicant not worth consideration--" I would urge

you to waste no time in making this candidate an offer of

employment." Larry Pryor in Los Angeles Times

A New York City couple received through the mail two tickets to a smash Broadway hit. Oddly, the gift arrived without a note, and they wondered who sent it. But they still attended the show and enjoyed it immensely. Returning to their apartment, they discovered that their bedroom had been ransacked. Valuable furs and jewelry were missing. On the pillow was this simple note: "Now you know."

A businessman was interviewing applicants for the position of divisional manager. He devised a simple test to select the most suitable person for the job. He asked each applicant the question, "What is two and two?"

The first interviewee was a journalist. His answer was "twenty-two."

The second applicant was an engineer. He pulled out a calculator and showed the answer to be between 3.999 and 4.001.

The next person was a lawyer. He stated that in the case of Jenkins v. Commr. of Stamp Duties, two and two was proven to be four.

The last applicant was an accountant. The businessman asked him, "How much is two and two?" The accountant got up from his chair, went over to the door, closed it then came back and sat down. He leaned across the desk and said in a low voice, "How much do you want it to be?"

In Peter Deison's book The Priority of Knowing God, he tells about an occasion when President Eisenhower was addressing the National Press Club. He opened his remarks by apologizing because he was not a great orator. Then he told his audience that his situation reminded him of a boy hood experience on a Kansas farm. Eisenhower recalled, "An old farmer had a cow that we wanted to buy. We went over to visit him and asked about the cow's pedigree. The old farmer didn't know What pedigree meant, so we asked him about the cow's butterfat production. He told us that he hadn't any idea. Finally, we asked him if be knew how many pounds of milk the cow produced each year. The farmer shook his head and said, 'I don't know. But she's an honest old cow and she'll give you all the milk she has!"' ,

Eisenhower then concluded his opening remarks, "Well, I'm like the cow: I'll give you everything I have."

SEARCHING FOR AN HONEST MAN

Donald Dunn, in the January 1992 "Reader's Digest," told the following

story:

A man entered my father's diesel-repair shop, said he was a driver

from a trucking fleet and suggested, "How about adding a few extra parts to

the bill? We'll let the company pay for it, and you and I can split the

difference?"

Dad refused, but the customer was insistent. "I come through here a

lot," the man continued. "We could make quite a bit of money." Dad said that

wasn't how he operated.

"Everyone does it!" the man yelled. "Are you some kind of fool?"

Burning mad, Dad asked him to leave and take his business elsewhere.

Suddenly the man smiled and extended his hand for a handshake. "I

own a trucking company," he said. "I've been looking for a mechanic I can

trust, and I'm not taking my business anywhere else!"

NOTE: Life sometimes offers us tests such as this. Whether it's honesty, or

faithfulness, or a heart of devotion to Christ -- will we pass the test?

(The Timothy Report, Swan Lake Communications,

SwanLake@webcombo.net, September 27, 1999)

Someone once told me a story about a friend he met in in Norway. One day they were in a restaurant and his friend paid a waitress for the meal. She gave him 25 cent too much back in change. He then brought it to the attention to the waitress who, working for tips, thanked him. I told him that most people would have kept it. To which he replied, "Sure, most people would, but then why make yourself a thief for a quarter?"

On another day and in a

different place, a young man, probably about 18 years

of age was standing out in front of a gas station when a car came

chugging and coughing to a halt by the gas pump. The man inside the car looked

passed him to the door of the station and saw the big CLOSED sign hanging for all

to see. He got out of the car and spoke over the top of the car to the young

man... "Are you closed?" "No, we're open," he said. "Great! My gauge is on

empty and I thought I wasn't going to make it this far." As the boy pumped the

gas into

the car, the man began to make small talk with him. "You know, it is

a beautiful day, isn't it?" "You'll never see this one again," came back

the reply. "What's that?" the man said. "You'll never see it again." "You

kind of sound like a Christian. Are you a Christian?"

The boy looked up and said, "No, but I go to church."

"Why do you go to church?"

"To praise the Lord," he said, "I'm not there yet... when I am,

I'll call myself a Christian... but for now I won't, I don't like that." The

man drove

away from the station a short time later musing about the frank

honesty of the young man. He was trying to hide nothing.

"Honesty pays, but it doesn't seem to pay enough to suit some people."

- Kin Hubbard

- _Instant Quotation Dictionary_, p. 101.

On his way to school one day, a young man found two canvas sacks

lying in the street. When he looked inside he was amazed to see that

the sacks were full of money - $415,000, in fact! When he returned

the money to the Priceton Armored Service, he received a reward of

$1,000. The youth, however, was unhappy and said he had expected a

larger reward. "I don't understand it," he complaned. "If I had to

do it over again, I'd probaby keep the money."

- {Dallas Times Herald, }11 March, 1979, A-2

Following written by Richard Hopper, retired pastor.

Have you ever heard the story about the dishonest golfer? He was so

dishonest that when he made a hole in one he put down zero. No

quality reveals a person's true character more than honesty. A

person of integrity is a person of strength.

The late J.C. Penny, famous merchant, was known for his integrity.

In his book, "The Ninth Decade", he tells of a job he held in a

village grocery. He told his father of a shrewed method practiced by

the owner. He would mix two grades of coffee and sell the mixture at

the highest price. Young Penny thought it was a smart trick. But the

boy had a wise father, who pointed out the dishonesty in the

practice. He made his point so strong that the boy quit his job. From

that time on Penny made honesty the rule of his life, a rule he

practiced throughout all his years in business.

Intergity is an important word in one's vocabulary. It will mean the

difference between true success or failure; between lasting happiness

or sorrow.

"Tell me nothing but that which is true... (\reference{1 Kings

22:16}{1 Kings 22:16}).

. I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of My

hands. \reference{Isaiah 49:15b-16}{Isaiah 49:15-16}

It’s time for a BREAKPOINT pop quiz. First question: What’s the meaning of the word IS? Second question: What does the word ALONE mean?

Well, most of us thought we knew what these words meant. After all, we use them every day. But the president’s now much publicized recently taped testimony has caused a lot of people to question the common meaning of words. It’s an indication that one dangerous effect of the Lewinsky scandal is not the everyday use of vulgar words, as bad as that is, but the vulgar MISuse of everyday words.

In his testimony before the grand jury, the president was asked about the truthfulness of the statement, “There is no sex of any kind,” which his lawyer Bob Bennett gave in the Paula Jones deposition. But the president answered: “It depends on what the meaning of the word IS is.” There was no sexual activity at the time the statement was made, Clinton said, so his words “there is no sex” is a true statement.

This semantic nitpicking didn’t stop there. When asked if he’d been alone with Miss Lewinsky, the president said it depends on what is meant by the word ALONE. Alone in the room? Alone in the suite of rooms? Alone in the White House? Who’s to say what ALONE means?

And then there’s the president’s tortured definition of sex. Through his obfuscation, the president has made the definition of simple words confusing and complicated. As Anne Carlson of TIME magazine said, Clinton was slicing the baloney so thin you could see through it.

Now a lot of people think Clinton’s strategy is comical, but it’s no joke. We really should be more outraged than amused, not only at Clinton but also at what his behavior represents.

The president’s semantic wiggling embodies one of the most insidious effects of postmodernism: the deconstruction of language. Our postmodern culture denies that words have any meaning apart from their specific cultural context. Remove them from that context and they can mean anything to anyone.

President Clinton is not only cynically trading on this trend; he’s also contributing to it: the kind of trend that leads people to say the Bible doesn’t mean what it says, or the Constitution doesn’t mean what the founders said.

But when we destroy the meaning of words as simple as IS or ALONE, we threaten our very ability to communicate with one another. With no agreed-upon definition, everybody speaks his own language and only you can know what you really mean.

Just think what this does to democracy and civil society. Without an agreed-upon language, there can be no understanding of the common values that tie us together. Our ability to maintain civil discourse, in forming shared values, is put in peril.

And there’s something else at stake. In John 1:1, Jesus is called the logos, the Word, meaning the plan of creation. The Word is absolute. It embraces the truth of creation and it’s understandable and communicated to us through Jesus and in God’s Scripture.

So, anything that debases language makes communion with God more difficult. That’s why Christians must be at the forefront of this battle against what C. S. Lewis so pointedly called LOGICIDE. And we need to help our neighbors understand that the president’s artful dodges aren’t just about politics or getting away with something.

They are the apotheoses of deconstruction, which, carried to its logical extreme, undermines the ability to maintain a responsible society.

No wonder Jesus said, let your “yea” be “yea” and your “nay” be “nay.”

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Copyright (c) 1998 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.