Fuel for Friday~ I was a little shocked a couple of weeks ago while perusing my email inbox. Every once in awhile I still receive emails from real estate websites after subscribing to a few of them during our recent house-hunting quest. The particular subject heading that caught my attention was "Lying to Your Landlord Can Save You Money." We have been on both sides of the rental fence, renting our first home for two years before selling it and being renters ourselves for the past eight years. Honestly, I am sick of renting. Often the properties are investment properties, not the landlord's personal home, so you end up with cheap carpet, cheap paint, cheap appliances, etc. Despite my growing desire to have my own house again, I am incredibly thankful for the outstanding landlords we have had. Understanding that every situation will have its pros and cons, we accept the rusty kitchen faucet or the sprinkler system that sounds like a bomb is going off every morning when it stops and are grateful for the roof over our heads, the heat on chilly mornings, and the honest and helpful people who are loaning us their home.
The blatant acceptance of lying caught me off guard. Not only did this company think it was okay to tell lies, it was promoting it on a mass email to all of its customers. I wondered how many people were offended and how many people eagerly opened it, read the "tips," and then proceeded to lie to their landlords and justify it as being okay. Society continues to turn the blacks and whites of life into shades of gray. Unfortunately, this societal acceptance makes something we all struggle with, whether it be in the big things or in flattery or exaggeration, even harder to fight against. Colossians 3:9 (NIV) reads, "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices," and Proverbs 12:22 (NIV) reads, "The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy."
While writing this post, I clicked back on the article and was pleasantly surprised to see that in its place was a new article, "5 Reasons You Should Never Lie to Your Landlord." I don't know if the article was replaced by a general outcry from landlords or if the general public voiced their concern with the promotion of dishonesty, forcing the company to reevaluate it's article. Nevertheless, the new article is a much better reflection of how we should think compared with the first. Even if lying makes our current world seem a bit easier, makes the day a bit smoother, or helps us save face in an uncomfortable situation, the Lord detests lies. Put off the old practices of compromising your integrity, justifying your actions, and accepting shades of gray; instead see lies how the Lord sees them, as detestable, and allow truth to be a black and white you live by.
The blatant acceptance of lying caught me off guard. Not only did this company think it was okay to tell lies, it was promoting it on a mass email to all of its customers. I wondered how many people were offended and how many people eagerly opened it, read the "tips," and then proceeded to lie to their landlords and justify it as being okay. Society continues to turn the blacks and whites of life into shades of gray. Unfortunately, this societal acceptance makes something we all struggle with, whether it be in the big things or in flattery or exaggeration, even harder to fight against. Colossians 3:9 (NIV) reads, "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices," and Proverbs 12:22 (NIV) reads, "The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy."
While writing this post, I clicked back on the article and was pleasantly surprised to see that in its place was a new article, "5 Reasons You Should Never Lie to Your Landlord." I don't know if the article was replaced by a general outcry from landlords or if the general public voiced their concern with the promotion of dishonesty, forcing the company to reevaluate it's article. Nevertheless, the new article is a much better reflection of how we should think compared with the first. Even if lying makes our current world seem a bit easier, makes the day a bit smoother, or helps us save face in an uncomfortable situation, the Lord detests lies. Put off the old practices of compromising your integrity, justifying your actions, and accepting shades of gray; instead see lies how the Lord sees them, as detestable, and allow truth to be a black and white you live by.
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