When I finally listen to the two messages—left on my phone yesterday from a number I don’t recognize—I realize I’ve blown it. It’s our new homeschool co-op director, she’s trying to get in touch with one of the other co-op moms, and it’s rather urgent.
I do this often, this waiting hours and even, as in this case, days, to check voice mail or email or text messages. Why have a smart phone if you’re just going to be an idiot about it? But I do, and I am.
I call her back right away, apologize for not calling her sooner. And then I tell her my toddler twins had hidden my phone. Even as the words are coming out of my mouth, I know I’m lying, but instead of shutting up, I keep talking, keep throwing my twins under the bus of my own irresponsibility.
Read the rest over at A Deeper Church.
I think another reason why lying is a bad habit is that we may start lying to ourselves as well at to others. I think self deception about all sorts of things — money, sex, power, etc. — is one of the serious habits that impedes relationships with people as well as intimacy with God. So I think honesty in all conversations helps us grow in honesty within ourselves, which flows over into other areas of life. Good for you for confessing your sin to the co-op director, Kimberlee, and good for you for writing about it.
Thank you, Lynne. What you say here about deceiving ourselves is exactly what I meant when I said lying separates us from ourselves. Thanks for expanding and explicating that so clearly!