Life Stuff: Loyalty

I am an avid runner. It's funny because I see the craziest things when I am outside running. A few months ago, I was running past this marsh. There were a ton of geese all over the place: some floating on the water, some flying over, and a few "security geese" that had interestingly positioned themselves in a very organized pattern around the marsh. Since it was spring at the time, I imagine they were nesting, which would explain the "added security." As I got closer to them, I kind of made eye contact with one of the "security geese." Big mistake. This giant creature began charging at me... Who knew geese were such killers? This guy was totally trying to take me down. What was he thinking? I was gonna steal an egg or something? It completely freaked me out. I love animals and everything, but I have to tell you I'm not really feeling a lot of love for geese right now...
When I thought about it later, it did seem that there was some sort of lesson buried in this trauma. So often we do not protect each other when we should: our family, friends, even people we work with. How often do we trade in our "pledge of loyalty" at the expense of someone else? We are nice to everyone’s face, but how quickly we throw each other under the bus when it serves our interests, yes? Funny how we never see animals treat each other this way, just us. They have realized the true benefit of social responsibility: We are stronger, better, protected, more productive, and more content when we stick together & take care of each other in this life. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says it well: "Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Sounds like a social revolution, yes?

Life Stuff: Truth

When it comes to integrity, is it ever ok to tell a lie? There are so many times when the details of the truth seem to create such unnecessary hassle for us in our relationships. I mean how much honesty is too much honesty? Are white lies good sometimes if it protects the people we love from information they can't handle? Or does the white lie reveal a bigger truth about the relationship? I want to be honest, real, transparent to those I love the most. At the same time, I want my privacy when it comes to my thoughts and feelings about certain things. Do we lose our right to privacy in exchange for intimacy? Certainly truthfulness and honesty would seem to be primary requirements for a good relationships. Jack Nicholson puts it so eloquently in "A Few Good Men," when he says, "You can't handle the truth." Maybe the question to ask ourselves is this: Do we really want to hear the truth from those we love or do we just want to be able to speak it? Is there such a thing as too much honesty?