They weren't the words I was looking for.  

My wife and I were visiting my sister, when my four year old  nephew CJ came bouncing into the room.  He sat down in my lap and  began bringing me up to date on all of the happenings in his young  life.  

As usual, he asked if he could spend the night at our house.  I  looked down at him and asked a question that was obviously an  attempt at gaining a very specific response.  "Who is your favorite uncle, CJ?"

CJ, looked up, knowingly, at me with his twinkling eyes and  grinned from ear to ear.  He looked like the kid in class who was the  only one who knew the answer to the teacher's toughest question.   "You know who my favorite uncle is, " he said.  "It's Uncle Wesley!"

They weren't the words I was looking for.

Children, for just a brief period in life, are honest. Sometimes,  painfully honest.  Ask them a question that isn't going to reveal some  wrongdoing on their part and they will give you an honest answer.  No  cover ups.  No beating around the bush.  No clever sales pitch or  strategic wording to make sure they say the right things.  Just a  straightforward answer. 

So, as they grow older, where do they learn how to exaggerate,  stretch the truth, manipulate, twist, conceal and just plain out tell a big  fat lie?

Hmmmm.  I won't tell, if you won't.  ;-)

In Matthew 5:37 Jesus said, "But let your communication be, 'Yea,  yea; Nay, nay:  for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."   Now, let's understand what Jesus meant here.  He wasn't saying that  we should sit around in silence, never offering any comments.  He  wasn't suggesting it's a sin to give more than "yes or no" responses.   What Jesus was saying is "tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing  but the truth."  

Our word is what we are known by.  It identifies what kind of  person we are.  Our word either labels us a person of honesty and  integrity, or, it brands us a liar.  You can be the nicest person in the  world, but if you don't tell the truth, you'll be known as a liar.  You  can be a talented writer, a wonderful singer or a gifted teacher...but if  you exaggerate, stretch the truth or withhold information, people will  say, "You can't trust him because he doesn't always tell the truth."  If  you twist things, even once or twice, people will wonder if they can  believe you at all.

Liar is an ugly nametag to have attached prominently for all to see.   It's also a nametag that is very difficult to remove.

Our word also reflects back on THE Word, Jesus Christ.  You see,  we are ambassadors for Christ.  We are His official representatives.    What we say automatically, whether we want it to or not, gets  associated with who we are as Christians.  Think about it.  You don't  hear, "I can't believe So and So said that."  Instead, you almost always hear comments like, "I can't believe So and So said that, he's supposed  to be a Christian" or "One of those ladies that goes to First Church lied  to me about..."  When we raise the banner that says we are a follower  of Jesus Christ, then our word is raised alongside it.  Our word is associated with who we are in Christ Jesus.

They weren't the words I was looking for, but my nephew was  honest with me that day, albeit it somewhat blunt.   Oh, that you and I  could cast aside the clever sales pitch, the concealed truth, the fake  flattery, the exaggeration and the "little white lie" that are so prominent  in our society today, and return to the simple, direct and honest speech  of a little boy who, without hesitation, shared the answer as he knew it  to be.

What about it, Christian?  The things that we are going to say today...

...are they the words Jesus is looking for?

Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown
\o/ Praise Jesus!