A thing of beauty
September 27, 2010 (Monday)
Have you ever seen a huge spider webb, glistening in the morning sunlight? With the mist of the new day hanging like crystals on every strand, it is a beautiful sight to behold. And it is an engineer’s delight. Dutifully constructed by the God-given instinct of the industrious spider. Take a close look at the next one you see, and discover a brand new world of design, as you examine the structure of the web. It is proportionate, and every strand is in the proper place.
Perhaps Sir Walter Scott had seen one when he wrote, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” A tangled web would not only be ugly–it would be useless. It could not serve its purpose in nature’s design. It would be a mess. And that’s exactly what lying does to our interpersonal relationships; it makes a mess. A society cannot long exist if lying becomes commonplace. That is why God gave us the Ninth Commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Perjury is a serious crime and carries heavy punishment. Our justice system depends upon the truth in order to make fair judgments.
Our every day personal relationships also depend upon our telling the truth. It is always the best way, no matter how much we are tempted to lie.
Are our lives examples of divine engineering like the beautiful huge webs in the morning sun or are they ugly, useless tangled webs made so by twisting the truth? “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”
Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”