Which Tire?
Four high school boys were late to class one morning. They entered the classroom and solemnly told their teacher they were late due to a flat tire. The teacher smiled and said it was too bad they were late because they had missed a test that morning. But she would let them make it up. She gave them each a piece of paper and a pencil and sent them to four corners of the room. Then she told them they would pass if they could answer just one question: Which tire was flat???
Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
One of the rarest things in our world today is a truly honest man! I know that all of us here want to be and probably strive to be honest, but how often do we allow ourselves to overtaken by dishonesty? Have you ever lied? Be honest! Have you ever stolen? Be honest! Have you ever cheated? Be honest! Have you ever murdered? Be honest!
I know what our initial reaction is to these questions. It is to deny we have ever been guilty of these things.
Well have you ever let someone believe something that was not true? Have you ever exaggerated or embellished something to reflect good upon yourself or bad upon another? Have you ever gone out of your way to avoid facing the truth? Then you are guilty of lying.
Have you ever taken something off of a job that was not yours? Have you ever stolen time from an employer? Have you taken affection from someone that was not rightfully yours to receive? Then you are guilty of stealing.
Have you ever hated? Have you ever said something destructive or demoralizing to someone? Then according to scripture, you are a murderer!
I Jn 3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
I must be honest and say that in some way or another, I have been guilty of all of the above! I have lied, stole, cheated and even killed with my tongue! Is there any hope for me?
Rom 7:21-25
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We must constantly be vigilant against our fallen nature! We must totally depend upon the grace of God to help us overcome dishonesty in our lives. We are going to make mistakes and even sin. But our greatest defense is to be honest when we do. Be quick to repent and if possible make restitution! It is the only way that we can persuade men of our faith in God. To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful.
We should strive to be honest in everything we do, because you never know when you will need someone to believe you when you say that you had a flat tire!
