THE COST OF PRETENDING
«He who winks with the eye causes trouble, but a prating fool will fall» (Proverbs 10:10).
INTEGRITY
Mark was a boy who liked watching obscene movies and filling his head with those kinds of images. One day he made a series of phone calls to certain erotic numbers where some women spoke insinuatingly. A short time later the phone bill came, and his parents almost had a heart attack when they saw the amount they would have to pay. They quickly went to the phone service’s office and had a heated argument with the manager. They were outraged that they were billed a surcharge for those kinds of phone calls. The manager remained calm and asked them, «Do you have a teenager at home?» When they replied affirmatively, the man explained that many people had come to him in the same situation and the answer had always been the same: teenagers had made the calls.
The parents returned home humiliated and spoke with their son. The young man denied the accusations in a very theatrical way: he cried and was offended by those «false accusations.» He made such a scene to deceive even his own parents that they ended up believing him. They thought someone else had gone to their house and committed that vulgar action. The young man was acquitted. The phone mystery of the calls never solved. Days later, Mark spoke with one of his friends about it and with a shameless smile told him, «It was me.»
Mark had apparently obtained a great victory and freed himself from serious trouble with his parents. But who do you think was damaged the most? What did that boy learn by discovering that he could avoid getting in trouble and go on with those embarrassing practices by lying? What’s more, if you go so far as to lie to your own parents, who will be able to restrain your lying tongue? Who will be free of your lies?
There’s no need to lie! That bad habit shouldn’t be part of your life. Reject it decisively! It’s better to admit personal mistakes and try to overcome them than to hide them and live under the shadow of deceit. That’s why Ellen White states, «It is better to die than to sin; better to want than to defraud; better to hunger than to lie»—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, ch. 44, p. 495.
Lies will never make you truly happy. The Bible reminds us, «He who winks with the eye causes trouble, but a prating fool will fall» (Proverbs 10:10). Frustration, anguish, ridicule. That’s what awaits those who lie.
I invite you today not to lie to your parents and to honor them through your life. If you’ve made mistakes, they’ll forgive you.
#YouthDevotional
#RadioJovenAdventista
#MeditacionesDiarias
Take From: Daily Devotions for Youth 2020
«A New You»
From: Alejandro Medina Villareal
Collaborators: Gezer Noria & Misael Morillo
Radio Joven Adventista
Recetas Vegetarianas
