2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
Deception can be deadly. These two people could have lived a long life if they had just been honest. They could have said, “We sold our land and here is some of the profit.” But instead, they acted as though they were giving the whole proceeds from the sale to the support of the poor. It was not the amount given, but the deception that got them in trouble. It was not that God demanded the total amount of money, but that they presented the money as though it were the full amount. If they had just been honest! So, what does this have to do with us? I don’t have land that I am going to sell in order to provide to the poor. Are you planning to do this? I didn’t think so. But I am sure there are times when I am tempted to present myself as someone I am not. I might overstate an attribute or experience in order to appear better qualified for a job. I might hide a deficiency from sight, drawing attention away from it if it appears to be noticed. I am very much like Adam and Eve. I have to admit that there are times when I do “hide my nakedness” on an issue. When they realized they were naked, vulnerable to discovery, they tried in vain to hide from the truth. None of us likes to be ‘found out’. We all want to be accepted and we all have some areas of our lives that if found out could lead to our being rejected. So we work hard to not be found out. The path to restoration is honesty before the Lord and then honesty lived out in our daily lives. We can start today being honest about ourselves. We will have opportunities today to stretch the truth or hide our weakness. We can instead be open and honest about the truth and trust God with the results. Will you join me today?
The Arnold Journey 