Contemplative Bible Reading

Zechariah 8:16 (New Living Translation)

But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace.

Speaking through the prophet, God is telling the people how to live in a way to will be good for them. Step Number 1: tell the truth to each other.

Well, a few little white lies that are … Well, I don’t want to tell someone that their outfit is … Well, … Well, I can create all sorts of reasons for not quite telling the truth, and we all understand the reasons, and well, you know…

Well, this is pretty plain stuff right in front of me, and try as I might, I really can’t create a reason why this doesn’t apply to me right now (Excuses? Oh, yes. I can create plenty of excuses.)

Someone once said something about tangled webs we weave when we don’t tell the truth to each other. I suppose God, who created all of this and all of us, knew better. It is up to me to let God be God and me be a part of the creation and, well, I guess I should follow the instructions…starting with Step Number 1.