Staff Directory

2 hours of notes vs. Eternity in hell.

Mar 22

I don’t like lying. I never have…I never will…And I hate it because I have made the mistake enough times, felt the guilt of it enough times, and wished over and over again that I hadn’t lied enough times to ponder deeply the reasons behind them. Every lie I’ve ever told has one thing behind it; and that’s this very simple progression of steps:

1) I didn’t want to get caught.
2) I don’t want to get caught because I don’t want to get in trouble.
3) I don’t want to get in trouble because I’m afraid of the consequences.
4) I’m afraid of the consequences because I know I deserve them.

Fear is central to lying. If no one was afraid of the consequences, they wouldn’t lie because no one would care. So is this fear a good thing? Why even bring this up? I recently had a lying issue in my class. Nothing big, nothing hurtful, nothing ever truly serious, and yet a lie nonetheless. So why did a group of incredibly cool, wonderful, and honest grade 3’s lie about something (that I won’t mention, but I assure you was minor) I genuinely wouldn’t even bat an eye at? My answer: Fear. The kids made a mistake, and were afraid of the consequences (not me, but what they would have to do). A fun bridge building activity that the kids have been looking forward to for a week, turned into 2 hours of note taking about bridges. Why did they lie about a small thing? I believe that “fear of consequences = lie to avoid those consequences”. I love my class, and I smile every day at the thought of seeing them, but I know as a responsible adult, it’s my job to teach them lessons such as “lying involves consequences” They lie, they pay the consequence. Than, they will never hear about it again from me. Why? Because God gave us rules, God has consequences for breaking rules; God forgives us and never remembers our sins again. Shouldn’t we do the same? You see healthy fear often causes our conscience to make a good decision. A healthy decision leads us to be a light that shines out God’s love. Being a light for God, leads us to a final resting place in Heaven. Consequence are made by those who care about making us good people, and good people are put in our place by God to lead us.

If we don’t provide consequences for those who look up to us, we are not fulfilling our duty to God. If we don’t fulfill our duty to God, it is the eternal dwelling in Hell that we must fear. Kids should fear consequences. Adults should fear consequences more. And just as God sends people constantly to remind us of what happens when lying and sin becomes central to our life, so also should we constantly remind kids of what can happen when lying becomes central to theirs. 2 hours of notes for them along with a strong lesson against lying, or, Eternity in hell for me for leading God’s children aside by letting them know that lying is an acceptable part of life.

Tough decision.