Readings for today: Genesis 27-29
I flunked out of college after my sophomore year. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go home because I was actively lying to my parents. I didn’t tell them about my heavy drinking. I didn’t tell them about my excessive partying. I didn’t tell them I was skipping class and no longer showing up for my work study. And back in those days, they didn’t really have any way to verify the truth of my story though I am sure they knew something wasn’t right. The story they heard from me was that I was doing well but just wanted a year off. A “gap year” before gap years were popular. I would remain in Boulder and work and live before registering for school the following year. Sadly, one lie led to another and another. My relationships suffered. I began to feel isolated and alone. Sure, I covered well but I was dying inside. Finally, I came clean. First, to my girlfriend at the time. A godly woman who is now my wife. Then my close friends. Then my brothers. And last of all, my parents. Though it was freeing, it was a painful process. Eventually, we recovered but I had to work hard to regain their trust.
The first word that comes to mind when I think of Jacob is deception. Here was a young man who deceived his disabled father. Took advantage of his blindness to steal his older brother’s birthright and blessing. Rather than come clean and face the music, he ran away from home under the auspices of “finding a wife.” When he reached his uncle’s home, he didn’t share what happened but accepted his hospitality under false pretenses. Little did he know that he’d met his match. Two could play the “deception” game. So Laban was able to marry both his daughters off to Jacob and get fourteen years of labor in return. One can only imagine the impact both men’s deception had on the family dynamic. Family meals must have been awkward affairs especially since Jacob favored Rachel over Leah. Then Leah began to have children while Rachel remained barren. More awkwardness that will lead to all kinds of competition and deception and accusations between the women. All part of the ripple effect of Jacob’s initial sin.
How many of us have a similar story to tell? How many of us have felt the ripple effect of sin in our own lives? How many of us have experienced the pain that comes along with it? How many of us have lied or deceived those we loved only to find it backfiring on us later in life? It can be tempting in a moment to shade the truth. To exaggerate. To withhold a certain amount of information. Sometimes for what we may think are good reasons. But deception only leads us down roads with dead ends. We end up in cul-de-sac’s of our own making. Life and relationships get stuck and don’t go anywhere. And if, by the grace of God, we find a way through, it will not happen without a lot of pain and suffering. Much better to tell the truth. Live transparently and vulnerably and honestly before others.
Readings for tomorrow: No readings on Sundays