GRACE FOR THE MOMENT | THE WAGES OF DECEIT

1. Grace for the Moment

a) "Grace for the Moment" is a collection of thoughts that are inspirational. They are intended to encourage, to give hope, and to inspire the viewers.

b) Reading a thought can change the way you think about something.

2. Scripture Verse

i) Psalm 101:7 New Century Version (NCV) 

⁷ No one who is dishonest will live in my house;
    no liars will stay around me.

3. Thoughts

a) More than once we've heard people refer to the story of Ananias and Sapphira with a nervous chuckle and say, "I'm glad God doesn't still strike people dead for lying." We're not so sure He doesn't. It seems to us that the wages of deceit is still death. Not death of the body, perhaps, but the death of:

i) A marriage - Falsehoods are termites in the trunk of the family tree.

ii) A conscience - The tragedy of the second lie is that it is always easier to tell than the first.

iii) A career - Just ask the student who got booted out for cheating or the employee who got fired for embezzlement if the lie wasn't fatal...

b) We could also list the deaths of intimacy, trust, peace, credibility, and self-respect. But perhaps the most tragic death that occurs from deceit is our Christian witness. The court won't listen to the testimony of a perjured witness. Neither will the world.