Have you ever been caught in an uncomfortable situation and the thought crossed your mind that the easiest way out was to tell just a teeny white lie?

THE WHITE LIE CAKE

Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Church Ladies’ Group, but forgot to
do it until the last minute. She remembered it the morning of the bake sale,
and after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix and
quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, and helping her son pack
for Scout camp.

When she took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat, and the
cake was horribly disfigured. She exclaimed, “Oh dear, there is no time to
bake another cake!” This cake was important to Alice because she so wanted
to fit in at her new church and in her new community of friends.

So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up
the center of the cake. She found it in the bathroom-a roll of toilet paper.
She cut out the sunken center and plunked it in and then covered it with icing. Not only did the finished
product look beautiful, but it also looked perfect.

Before she left the house to drop the cake by the church and head for work,
Alice woke her daughter and gave her some money and specific instructions to
be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 to buy the cake and bring
it home. When the daughter arrived at the sale, she found the cake had
already been sold. Amanda grabbed her cell phone and called her mom.

Alice was horrified–she was beside herself! Everyone would know! What
would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, and ridiculed! All
night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her
and talking about her behind her back.

The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the
cake and would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a
fellow church member and try to have a good time. She did not really want
to attend because the hostess was a snob who, more than once, had looked down
her nose at the fact that Alice was a single parent and not from the
founding families of Tuscaloosa, but having already RSVP’d, she couldn’t
think of a believable excuse to stay home.

The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust, old South, and
to Alice’s horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! Alice
felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake! She started to get up out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to
her feet, the Mayor’s wife said, “What a beautiful cake!”

Alice, still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a
prominent church member) say, “Thank you, I baked it myself…” Alice smiled
and thought to herself, “God is good.” (Author Unknown)

Well, just in case you are ever faced with that decision, and we all can be, remember who it is that is prompting you to lie versus owning the truth. Here’s what Jesus told the Pharisees about lies:

John 8:43-44, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Just before this encounter, Jesus had told the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

Anytime we are faced with trying to avoid embarrassment, anger, or some other negative response from another person, the temptation may arise to skirt around the truth (in other words, lie). We need to remember that just owning the truth will not only make you feel better about it all, but other people will respect you more. The truth will set you free, even on this level. Jesus was speaking about salvation, and that is The Truth that sets us free from sin and eternal punishment for that sin, and when we accept that truth, His Spirit gives us the ability to have victory over even “white lies”.

Whatever area you may struggle with that you would like to have victory in, just ask Him to give you the strength and determination to overcome. The more access we give Him to every part of our lives, the more victory we will have!