Lent Day 1: Honesty

“Mema, I need scissors to get crayon out of my tooth.” This is how the conversation started with my grandson. I took him to the bathroom to get one of his floss sticks. And then I asked, “Asher, how did crayon get in your tooth?” He replied without missing a beat and with complete candor: “I was coloring and it just got in there.” I assured him that I was pretty sure that the crayon did not “just get” into his mouth.

The problem is as old as Adam. When confronted by God about the apple cores lying on the ground,
Adam had the audacity to blame God: “That woman you gave me…” It is so hard to accept personal responsibility for what happens. It’s much easier to blame everyone else. A woman burns her mouth drinking hot coffee and sues the company for making the coffee hot instead owning up that she probably shouldn’t have been trying to drink it while she was driving.

I was reminded of this not long ago while I was watching a basketball game. One of the giants on the court committed a foul so flagrant that even a novice like me could call it, but instead of raising his hand (like we were taught to do in school when you committed a foul), he ran to the ref and in an animated fashion began loudly (and with multiple expletives) arguing his case for innocence. No one including the ref was buying the argument. It was almost as believable as a crayon jumping into your mouth.

In 2002, Nelson and I had to declare bankruptcy after I lost my jobs and his restaurants closed. As we met with our attorney (who was also a court magistrate in our county), we were discussing my legal situation. She asked me a question that absolutely floored me. With all seriousness, she asked why in the world I turned myself in, why didn’t I just lie about it—no one would have ever known. No one but me. No one but God.

So here we are at the beginning of Lent. Let’s start by being honest. Let’s own up to our mess ups. Let’s not blame others. Let’s give up hiding. Raise your hand. Own your behavior. The old timers call it confession. The Word tells us: 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9, NIV) I just have to believe we will all feel better with a little less crayon in our teeth.