Owning Up

We’re all tempted to lie when we get caught. Maybe you baby-sit your little brother Jake on Saturday while your parents work. While he watches cartoons, you close your eyes for a minute. An hour later you wake up to an empty room and blaring TV. There’s no Jake to be found. Running outside, you spot him at the picnic table, arranging flowers. “Oh, no!” you whisper. Jake has picked every one of your mother’s prize roses and is making bouquets from them. Later, when confronted by your mom, you say that you were outside with Jake, ran indoors when the phone rang, and by the time you got back outside, he’d cut all the flowers. Mom doesn’t buy it, and you feel guilty.

“The Lord detests lying lips.” (Proverbs 12:22 TNIV) So the next time you do something wrong, confess it instead of covering up. You’ll feel much better. Apologize. Make things right if you can. Then put it behind you and move on.