Acceptable

[RV]

There is a scene in the Andy Griffith show where Andy is trying to explain to Opie that he should always be truthful in dealing with people. Opie tells Andy that his friend "may have gotten the idea" about a coat button he traded for a pair of skates. Andy goes on to tell him that he shouldn't mislead people, he shouldn't lie to them and certainly not omit something that they need to know to make an informed  decision. Andy calls it the Golden Rule, he can call it whatever he wants but, it has more to do with honesty than anything else.

Parents always say that they want their kids to be honest with them but, then turn around and lie to them about Christmas, Easter, Halloween , substance abuse, scripture and all sorts of other things. Parents show them daily examples of lying, omitting and misleading. Parents claim one thing but, model another, confusing for children of all ages. The old "do as I say, not as I do", routine.

These same people claim that it is horrible when politicians and the media model the exact same behavior that they have modeled for their children on a daily basis! I guess the mantra is that everyone else is supposed to be honest about everything while we go about doing the exact opposite?

The Webster's New World Dictionary and Thesaurus defines the word "true" as follows: 1 faithful loyal 2 in accordance with fact; not false 3 conforming to standard 4 rightful; lawful 5 accurately fitted, shaped, etc. 6 real; genuine.

In the book of John, when Jesus was before Pilate, he asks Jesus "what is truth"? I would guess that Pilate asks this question because he really had no idea. Many people still have no idea what truth is, what is true nor what is fact.

In scripture the word "truth" appears 149 times. The word "true" appears 81 times.The word "truly" appears 42 times. The word "lie" appears 155 times. The word "lied" appears only four times. The word "liar" appears 13 times. Finally, the word "liars" appears only eight times.

It seems like untruths, half truths, misleading information and blatant lies are believed more readily in our society than the actual truth is. What's more, we are modeling that behavior and then wondering why so many are exhibiting it. Our children are growing up with the repeated indoctrination that "some lies are acceptable", "some half-truths are alright" and "some misinformation is expected" if it supports the narrative than, it is even encouraged!

People like myself, are outraged that this presidential election was stolen, rigged, defrauded and railroaded. Considering that lying has become mainstream and "acceptable", what does society expect? The Bible plainly warns us that we are to be honest, yet that is largely ignored or downplayed. The Bible tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil yet, that is also largely ignored and downplayed by most.

If one lie is "acceptable", who decides which lie is and which lie is not? How many lies does it take before they are no longer "acceptable"? For example, if it is "acceptable" to lie or fabricate information to our children about Christmas or Easter, why is it not "acceptable" to lie to them about other things? If it is "acceptable" to murder an innocent unborn baby, why is it also not "acceptable" to murder a hateful neighbor or co-worker? If the victim is ten years younger in age and it is "acceptable" in certain places to have sexual contact with someone, why is it not "acceptable" to have sexual contact with someone who is eleven years younger? Twelve years younger? Thirteen years younger? If it is "acceptable" to break the law and come here illegally, why is it not "acceptable" to break the law by stealing? If it is "acceptable" for a city to declare that they are a "sanctuary city" and thus immune from immigration law, why can't a city declare that they are a "sanctuary city" and immune from any other law(s)?

If it is "acceptable" to destroy public property in the name of "protest" against "racism" then why isn"t it also "acceptable" to destroy public property in the name of "protest" against "radicalism", "Marxism" or "Communism"? If it is "acceptable" to burn a privately owned business down in the name of "protest", why couldn't privately owned homes be burned down in the name of "protest" against whatever? The same could be said for law enforcement vehicles, law enforcement officers, assault, murder, looting, theft, etc. In other words, if we're going to declare that one person or group's opinion is valid and thus a reason to justify chaos, illegality, etc., why not declare that another person or group's opinion is also a valid reason to justify chaos and illegality? It would seem that we are creating deliberate discrimination.

[Solar]

There is a scene in the Andy Griffith show where Andy is trying to explain to Opie that he should always be truthful in dealing with people. Opie tells Andy that his friend "may have gotten the idea" about a coat button he traded for a pair of skates. Andy goes on to tell him that he shouldn't mislead people, he shouldn't lie to them and certainly not omit something that they need to know to make an informed  decision. Andy calls it the Golden Rule, he can call it whatever he wants but, it has more to do with honesty than anything else.

Parents always say that they want their kids to be honest with them but, then turn around and lie to them about Christmas, Easter, Halloween , substance abuse, scripture and all sorts of other things. Parents show them daily examples of lying, omitting and misleading. Parents claim one thing but, model another, confusing for children of all ages. The old "do as I say, not as I do", routine.

It never occurred to you, that these too are all life lessons, that you should not believe everything you're told, even by those you trust.
As Regan once said, "Trust, But Verify"...