Tag Archives: Deception

Chapter-a-Day

Tragic Stories Touch Secret Wounds

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English: Isaac Feels Jacob as Rebekah Looks On...
English: Isaac Feels Jacob as Rebekah Looks On, watercolor by James Tissot (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Chapter-a-Day Genesis 27

Isaac said to Esau, “I have made Jacob your master and have declared that all his brothers will be his servants. I have guaranteed him an abundance of grain and wine—what is left for me to give you, my son?” Genesis 27:37 (NLT)

As an actor, I find it interesting to read the theatrical lengths to which Rebekah and Jacob went to make Jacob convincingly play the part of Esau and deceive Isaac. As  I read today’s chapter, I also thought what a tragic story is revealed in these past few chapters.

  • How twin brothers could be so different
  • The conspiracy of (seemingly) heaven and earth to favor Jacob from birth
  • The parental favoritism that divides the parents and family
  • The deceptive stealing of birthright and blessing
  • The fulfillment of Jacob’s given name (which in Hebrew sounds like both “Heel” & “Deceiver”)

I couldn’t help, as I read, to think of other epic stories told on film such as Legends of the Fall and The Godfather which deal with similar themes of fathers and sons, of favoritism and blessing, and of tragedy and loss. I believe that there is something very compelling in these stories for us because they tap into very human realities from our very own family systems and experiences. These are things which families rarely speak about or even acknowledge, and  their suppression makes the truth and reality of them even more powerful when we read or see similar themes so artfully articulated in story. It’s like scratching at an old wound.

I walk away from some stories and chapters with more questions than answers. Today’s chapter is one of them. Why did God seem to honor the deception of Rebekah and Isaac? How could Isaac so passively allow these things to happen? How and why does God utilize human brokenness and sin to bring about His will?

It’s a good morning for a cup of coffee and a thoughtful conversation around such interesting questions.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Deuteronomy 16

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HDR @ the DMV
Image by stevelyon via Flickr

The right! The right! Pursue only what’s right! It’s the only way you can really live and possess the land that God, your God, is giving you. Deuteronomy 16:20 (MSG)

I was talking to a friend on the phone the other day, and he related an experience from his day. Standing at the teller of the local office of the County Treasurer, he was registering a used car he’d just purchased. When asked how much he’d spent to purchase the vehicle he had a momentary mental struggle. If he simply gave an amount that was a few hundred, maybe a thousand, lower than what he actually paid, he would have to pay less tax to register the vehicle.

“Truth wins out,” he heard inside his head, inside his heart. And the struggle yet ensued. There were, I’m sure, all sorts of arguments for being dishonest. It’s not a great amount, no one would know, and who really cares if the government gets a few dollars less on a registration tax in the grand scheme of things. “Truth wins out,” his conscience whispered. Or, perhaps it was Holy Spirit.

He gave the true amount of the purchase, paid the proper amount for registration, and slept much better that night.

I thought of my friend when I read today’s chapter. Little white lies and small dishonesties are easy to get away with. We think very little about them, but perhaps we should heed the challenge in today’s chapter to actively pursue what is right. Little dishonesties have a tendency to grow in unexpected ways and require further deception. Doing what’s right in the little things clears the conscience and paves the way for doing right in much more substantial life matters.

Indeed, “truth wins out” in many ways.

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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Romans 3

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 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. Romans 3:20a (NLT)

It’s been a tough year for my teams. Last January my favorite team, the Vikings tragically missed going to the Super Bowl (once again). Then the boys of summer let me down as the Cubbies fells far short of expectation and finished the season in disappointing fashion. Even the local boys, the I-Cubs, missed the post season when they lost the last game of their season. [sigh]

As a kid, I used to think that my behavior influenced whether my team won or lost. If I was a good kid and made God happy, then maybe God would let the Vikings win on Sunday. One little trip up on my part and a victory was in jeopardy. I was pretty sure three of the Vikings four Super Bowl losses were my fault.

Along the journey, I’ve come to recognize two great lies that trip people up:

  1. God could never forgive me for all the bad things I’ve done.
  2. If I do enough “good” to balance out all the “bad” I’ve done, perhaps I can tip the scales in my favor and God will accept me.

These lies burrow and root themselves deep within the soil of our hearts, but I realize now that the focus of both of these lies is me. I’m the center. My sin is so great. I am so awful. But if I can do better, then I can be “good enough.” My sin is so great that it affects the outcome of the football game for my favorite team, or whether I get that job, or whether that girl will go out with me, or if I win the lottery (notice the I, I, my, me).

The more entrenched in these self-centered lies, the harder it is to hear God’s good news:

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. Romans 3:23-26

Silly me. The Vikings winning or losing has nothing to do with me. Getting into heaven has nothing to do with me, either. Being right with God is not about me and what I’ve done. Being right with God has everything to do with Jesus and what He did for me. By placing my faith in what Jesus did for me, I’m made right with God.

As for being a fan of the Vikings and the Cubs, that takes a lot of faith, too.