Opus 2015-28: Where Is Lilly Tomlin When You Need Her?

According to the internet, it was Chico Marx in Duck Soup who came up with the line, “Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?”  This has been improved to, “Who are you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?”

It is a joke that has become reality.

I continue to marvel at how the foundations of this declaration are constantly being laid in my classroom.  I am sure I have said it before:  The hardest thing for me to accept and adjust to is the casual and consistent ease with which students lie to me on a regular basis.  If I were not a Christian and acknowledge the sinful nature I would be surprised.  I am still constantly disappointed.  A young man or woman with all the appearances of being a wonderful human being will be chewing gum.  It is clearly visible as a yellow, green or blue mass, sometimes hanging out their mouth.  I ask them to get rid of it.  They look at me with Oscar winning sincerity and say, “I don’t have any gum.”

It starts here.  It continues on through life.  At some time in our life we have all been taken in by a smooth sales technique.  We hear constant commercials that make claims that have been cleared by the legal department but are designed to deceive.  We have people running for political office that rival the sincerity of my gum chewing students. 

The battle continues.  Honesty, integrity, truth and all of the results of such standards are being flushed down the toilet of our culture.  I can’t change the entire culture.  You don’t have much more power.  What I can do is clean up my back yard and encourage others around me to do the same.  I can also remind people who call themselves Christians that the Ten Commandments tell us,

(Exodus 20:16 KJV)  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

If that doesn’t do it for you then let me remind you,

(Revelation 21:8 KJV)  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

We all agree that Hitler is burning in Hell.  We have others we condemn to that fate, but notice what is tagged on at the end of the list:  liars.

Church, take it seriously.  God does.  World, you will also be held accountable, not by me but by whatever you will acknowledge was the Prime Mover of the Big Bang.

As Lilly Tomlin would say, “And that’s the truth.”

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