KEYWORDS: god, people, truth, lord, things, name

Shooting Straight, Part 6--Letter Links: Speak the Truth

September 21, 2004

(ML #3505, GN 1094)

FD/MM/FM August 2004

Reading‚ Pinups, Mistakes and World Conquest!—Thru Love

ML #151:55, Vol.2

55. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: you'll not curse him, cheat him, steal from him, or lie to him, if you love him—much less hurt him! You also won't run up his telephone bill—or give him hep, VD, or Hong Kong flu by kissing him on the mouth when you're sick!

Personal Visits, Part I

ML #143:35-41, Vol.1

35. ANOTHER ABUSE OF YOUR SO-CALLED FREEDOM, which I must caution you about, is the perverted idea that some of you seem to have about having all things in common. WE BELIEVE IN VOLUNTARY SHARING, NOT COMPULSORY SHARING! If you choose to voluntarily share your pen or Bible or guitar or some item of clothing with someone who needs it, this is genuine Christian love, unselfishness‚ and self–sacrifice! But snatching a brother's pen or other materials which have been given him for his use—snatching it when he's not looking and doesn't know who got it, and EVEN BORROWING WITHOUT RETURNING‚ IS JUST PLAIN THEFT OR STEALING, INCLUDING BORROWING WITHOUT PERMISSION!

36. WE ARE NOT LIKE THE COMMUNISTS WHO SAY, "WHAT'S YOURS IS MINE, AND I'M GOING TO TAKE IT AWAY from you at the point of a gun!" But we are Christians—the Children of God, who say, "What's mine is yours, and I want to share it with you"! TAKING ANYTHING FROM ANYWHERE OR ANYONE WITHOUT THE OWNER'S KNOWLEDGE OR PERMISSION IS JUST PLAIN STEALING, FORBIDDEN BY THE LORD! We have even had some potential DISCIPLES GO BACK BECAUSE OF YOUR LACK OF LOVE ALONG THIS LINE! One idealistic Presbyterian minister became disillusioned with us, disappointed in you, and felt you didn't really love him and he could no longer enjoy our fellowship‚ because someone stole his clothing right off his bed! That was stealing, Brother!—And God's going to hold you responsible!

37. CONTRARY TO WHAT SOME OF OUR ENEMIES HAVE REPORTED OF US, WE DO NOT TEACH, MUCH LESS PRACTICE THAT YOU CAN DO ANYTHING IN THE NAME OF JESUS AS LONG AS IT'S FOR THE LORD! It's still stealing, no matter what you call it‚ if you took it or kept it without the owner's permission! If you need it, and haven't got one‚ and you know your brother doesn't need it, then HUMBLY ASK HIM PERSONALLY IF YOU CAN BORROW IT, USE IT‚ TAKE IT, OR KEEP IT—BUT DON'T STEAL IT!

38. WE KICKED A GUY OUT OF ONE OF OUR FIRST COLONIES ONCE, FOR STEALING A JAR OF PEANUT BUTTER, for which he refused to repent, and which he denied and hid under his bed and which we only found by forcible search! We told him if he would confess it, repent, and produce it, we would forgive him, but if we had to search his stuff to find it without his help, he would be cut off from amongst his brethren—and he was! I understand this has become very common in some Colonies, contrary to our earlier hard–line against such practices! Brethren, these things ought not so to be!

39. IT IS ALSO EVERY MEMBER'S DUTY TO REPORT ANY SUCH THEFT OR VIOLATION OF ANY OTHER RULES BY ANY OTHER MEMBER! OTHERWISE, YOU YOURSELF ARE AN ACCESSORY TO THE CRIME AND ALSO GUILTY!

40. THIS ALSO INCLUDES ANY SO-CALLED "SPOILING OF THE SYSTEM" on the outside, without the System's permission! Remember, the Israelites asked permission of the Egyptians to borrow their gold and jewels when leaving, only while they were gone, Egypt and the Egyptians were destroyed and they couldn't return them across the Red Sea! But GOD'S WORD SAYS THAT WE ARE TO PROVIDE ALL THINGS HONEST TOWARD THEM THAT ARE WITHOUT, THAT THE MINISTRY BE NOT BLAMED (2Co.6:3; 8:21) and so that you do not bring reproach on the cause of Christ as well as the name Children of God!

41. THIS ALSO INCLUDES YOUR FAILURE TO RETURN BORROWED ITEMS WITHIN THE SPECIFIED AND PROMISED TIME AND YOUR FAILURE TO PAY BILLS OR DEBTS THAT YOU RIGHTFULLY OWE! You are to owe no man anything, save to love him. … Remember, love worketh no ill to his neighbor! "How canst thou contrive evil against thy neighbor seeing that he thinketh that he dwelleth safely by thee?" (Pro.3:29) "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself!" (Le.19:18)

Personal Visits, Parts II and III

ML #143A:126-140, Vol.1

126. WHAT'S IN A NAME?—EVERYTHING! It should describe you, tell who you are, what you are, indicate your characteristics, and even what you stand for! Jesus even made loyalty to His Name a requirement of discipleship and He insisted that it be proclaimed, and literally millions have died for His Name and refusing to deny His Name, or even to deny their own name—that they were Christians! Why didn't they just change names? Couldn't they just have said: "It doesn't really matter what we call Jesus, or what we ourselves are called, just as long as we know who He is and who we love and worship and who we are! We can call Him or ourselves anything we want, and we'll still know who we're talking about, so that if our attackers or persecutors ask us if we believe in Jesus, we can say, No, we believe in Krishna! That'll be our new name for Jesus! We'll know who we're talking about! We'll still know we're really talking about Jesus but it'll throw our enemies off the track, and we'll call ourselves Hare Krishna, so that, though we'll know we're still Christians, our enemies won't know it! So all hail to Krishna by all us Hare Krishnas! Don't be alarmed!—We're still Christians talking about Jesus, but we don't want the world to know it!"

127. WHY DIDN'T ALL THE CHRISTIAN MARTYRS DO THIS INSTEAD OF HAVING TO DIE FOR THE MERE NAME OF JESUS, instead of confessing they were Christians? Why didn't they just change their names and escape? Why didn't they just say, I'll only deny with my mouth, but I'll just be lying, 'cause I'll still believe on Him in my heart? Why didn't they do this? Why did they suffer and let themselves be tortured and killed for nothing but a name? What's in a name?

128. WE'LL I'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S IN A NAME! The name "church" no longer means anything but a building! That's what it stands for today! The name "Christians" no longer means anything either! It usually means just some kind of hypocritical self-righteous church person who goes to that building on Sunday! Even the name "Jesus People" doesn't mean much anymore because of the way they've been acting lately, which certainly isn't like Jesus! It doesn't even mean much to the world‚ because even the world recognizes what a cheap imitation and shallow fadists the Jesus People are!

129. BUT LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BROTHER: THE NAME CHILDREN OF GOD MEANS SOMETHING TODAY THE WORLD OVER! The world has heard about us! They know about us‚ both the good and the bad—who we are and what we stand for, and they know we're not to be confused with the Jesus People, the church compromisers‚ the sickening little members of the System! The world knows that the Children of God are that radical, fanatical, hard-line, uncompromising, all–the-way, totally committed, utterly dedicated‚ militant, fearless‚ explosive, one hundred percenters, that some people swear by and others crucify! There's no mistaking who we are!

130. AND IF YOU THINK BY COMPROMISING IN CHANGING YOUR NAME OUTWARDLY IT'S NOT GOING TO CAUSE A CHANGE INWARDLY, YOU ARE MISTAKEN! I can already smell the stink of compromise in some of you who have become ashamed of the name and changed yours for fear of persecution, trying to change your name outwardly and still call yourselves Children of God inwardly! You can't do it any more than the Early Christians could! If you really are a Child of God‚ but you change your outward name, sooner or later you're going to have to deny that you're a Child of God and a member of the Children of God, and you'll be lying! And one lie leads to another! Pretty soon, just like Judas, you're going to have to prove that you're not one of us by denouncing us to individuals and publicly! One lie leads to another, as my Grandmother used to say: "One lie can never stand alone! It always has to have several others to prop it up.

"Oh what a tangled web we weave,

When first we practice to deceive!"

How true!

131. FIRST YOU'LL DENY THE NAME, THEN YOU'LL DENY YOU'RE ONE OF US, THEN YOU'LL DENOUNCE US TO PROVE IT, THEN YOU'LL TRY TO PROVE IT BY YOUR SPEECH AND ACTIONS that you're not a Child of God—and you will become such a living lie that either you really will no longer be one of us, or people will see right through your denial, like the little girl did Peter's, and scornfully ridicule you for your cowardice and your lying, saying, "Your speech betrayeth you!"—And then you will have brought even greater shame upon the name! You will even be a testimony against us, proving only to the world that you are ashamed of the name, ashamed of us, ashamed of what we stand for‚ and even ashamed of yourself, and a coward on top of it, having renounced your name, us, what we stand for, and even your own stinking self and your own convictions!—All to escape a little persecution, a little harassment, and a few lying accusations—just like Judas!

132. There are some things worse than death, amongst them cowardice, betrayal, being a traitor, being a Judas, being a lying hypocrite, being a disgrace, being a shameful bad example, a dissembler, and bringing shame and reproach on His Name, our name, and yourself! … I'd rather see you die for your convictions, the things you believe in, the people you believe in, the Name you believe in, and the God you believe in than to become such a coward and a hypocrite! I'd rather see you die for something than live for nothing! I'd rather see you a dead hero than a live coward! May God have mercy on you! I am ashamed of you, and so is the Lord! "And some to everlasting shame and contempt!"

133. AGAIN, WE GIVE YOU AND INCH AND YOU TAKE A MILE! We tell you can call your local place, organization, corporation, church, or bank account, anything you want to‚ to satisfy the draft or please the System! But you carry it so far as to even deny that you're the Children of God at all! Apparently one compromise leads to another and eventually complete denial‚ renunciation‚ and denouncement! At the rate you're going‚ pretty soon, you really won't be one of us!

134. WHERE'S THAT SPIRIT YOU ONCE HAD OF BEING WILLING TO SUFFER ANYTHING FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE? Where's that desire you once had for martyrdom for His Cause? Where's that loyalty and camaraderie you once had, which would have made you willing to lay down your life for your brethren? Where's that faithfulness you once had which claimed you never would deny the Faith or the Truth or your brethren! Have you lost the will to do or die?

135. YOU'RE AS BAD AS SOME FOLKS IN THE NORTHEAST WHO ARE SPREADING THE LIE THAT I AND MY FAMILY HAVE BACKSLIDDEN‚ GONE BACK ON THE LORD, LEFT THE WORK‚ AND ARE NO LONGER EVEN SERVING GOD in a foolish attempt to try to hide the Truth from the King they're working with who doesn't like us! What a testimony! How ridiculous! What a lie! What a besmirchment of our character‚ our Faith, example, and conversation! Frankly, I think that King is too smart and knows us too well to believe it‚ and knows you're lying, but he's letting you trap yourself in your lies so you'll be all the more bound to him! The Devil is going to make you pay for it, and the payment has already begun up there!

136. Where did you get the idea you could keep on lying like this and get away with it? What does God's Word have to say about liars? How far are you going to go to lie to save your neck, to deceive people! Be sure your sins will find you out! Whatsoever a man soweth that shall be also reap! Lie to him and he'll lie to you, and neither of you will believe each other, and pretty soon you'll be wondering what the Truth is! And if he actually believes that ridiculous lie, think how far he may spread it, and what a terrible testimony that would be, and the little ones it may cause to stumble, for which you will be to blame! It would be better for you to have had a millstone hung around your neck and be dropped into the sea!

137. AND WHY DO YOU FOLKS LIE WHEN IT'S NOT EVEN NECESSARY? The truth would have served your purpose much better: "He's retired, and writing a book, hasn't been with us for a year! We don't even know where he is!" This is every word the Truth! You just don't have to tell him the whole Truth! I am retired from my former active personal leadership and teaching in person, and we're not only writing one book, but several! You're reading one of them! And I haven't been with you in person for a year! You haven't even seen me for a year and you don't even know where I am! That's the Truth! Why don't you use it? Why do you tell all those dirty lies about me that you didn't even have to tell? He would have believed the Truth! But God's not going to let him believe those lies! It would be too damaging to our life and testimony and even to his own faith in us, even if he doesn't like us! I'll tell you right now, if he's a man of God at all, he'll know you're lying, but he's smart enough to let you do it in order to play his little game and let you play yourself right into his hands! Wait and see! God have mercy on you!

138. WHEN GENERAL WILLIAM BOOTH WAS ON TRIAL FOR HERESY BY THE METHODIST CHURCH and his excommunication hung on his just shading the Truth a little on one little answer or he'd be out of the Methodist Church, out of his church, out of job, and cut completely off from former associations‚ not even knowing where to go, he hesitated only a moment before giving that answer! As he hesitated, his tiny little spitfire of a wife, Catherine, leaped to her feet clear up in the balcony, leaned far over the rail, and pointing her finger at him on the platform‚ screamed at the top of her voice‚ "William!—Don't you shilly shally!"—And the Salvation Army was born!

139. YOU GUYS WHO ARE TELLING AND LIVING THESE LIES ARE SHILLY-SHALLYING, and pretty soon you're going to get so wishy-washy you won't even know what the Truth is, or who you are, or what you stand for! For God's Sake, don't wind up a perpetual liar! You don't have to tell everything you know, and for the sake of security, you don't always have to tell the whole Truth, and sometimes, you may even have to say one thing that is true, but give someone the impression you mean something else in order to protect yourself and others from unnecessary trouble! But for God's sake and His Work's Sake, and your own sake, don't come right out with bold-faced lies that aren't even necessary and that are even going to require more lying to prop it up! God forbid!

140. ASK GOD FOR MORE WISDOM! Ask God for the right answers! Ask God to lead you what to say and to protect you and the Truth! The Lord can give you some real smart answers, like the ones He Himself used and gave His disciples, which still didn't tell His enemies what they wanted to know and still didn't let Him land in their trap! Ask the Lord what to say! He's a lot smarter than you are, and He certainly won't lead you tell those stupid, unnecessary and damaging lies! May God help us! "As deceivers, yet True!"—Not liars! There's a difference!

Conviction and Honesty

Maria #51, DB 3.

1. (Maria:) Dad makes a point of telling people the truth wherever he has the opportunity‚ whenever he's in the company of people who need to hear it for their own good!

2. DAD IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL TO DELIVER THE TRUTH EVEN TO HIS OWN HURT, ' WE SHOULD ALL BE MORE LIKE THAT! Why not stand up for the truth ' tell people what they need to know? That is a part of Dad's witness when we go out and he is always telling people the truth in order to help them. He really stands up for what is right ’ people respect him for it too! He asks waiters to turn down the piped–in music ' vocally labels modern American music as "African jungle rock," telling the waiters ’ anyone within hearing in no uncertain terms how bad it is ' why they shouldn't listen to it, that it's going to make them nervous ' deaf, that it's hellish noise from the demons in Africa, that it's Devil–inspired! He just tells the whole message at the risk of offending them, even strangers, but he tells them the truth! I mean, why shouldn't we all tell people the truth ' stand up for our convictions ' beliefs? I have to admit I need a lot more conviction ' fight, because it embarrassed me sometimes when Dad would tell these Systemites straight-out what they were doing wrong, but see, that's the problem, we're either embarrassed for ourselves, or for them, so we don't do it! We pull our punches, we compromise. But Dad never waters down the message, he really tells people what they need to hear, the truth!—And we should do that too!

5. I THINK PEOPLE IN OUR FAMILY HAVE SOMEHOW GOTTEN THE IDEA THAT THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TELL PEOPLE THAT WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS WRONG. … If you're afraid to tell people that what they are doing is wrong, then you start to compromise with them!

6. I'M AFRAID TOO FEW OF US SEEM TO HAVE THE CONVICTION FOR THE LORD'S TRUTH THAT WE SHOULD HAVE! I don't know what happened ' why we don't. Maybe it's because we went a bit overboard in some things at the beginning as a Family, ’ in our zeal didn't use enough wisdom. Many would go home ’ blast their parents away ’ blast everybody else too with too strong a condemning message, not balanced with enough love‚ I'm afraid. Then we had to have a turnabout in using more wisdom ’ love ’ not being so self-righteous ' overbearing in our witness‚ but perhaps everybody went too far again to the opposite extreme ' went overboard in being too sweet ' nice ’ wishy-washy in our standard ' our conviction against sin ' evil!

7. OF COURSE, THE CHURCH SYSTEM IS VERY SELF-RIGHTEOUS ABOUT THEIR WITNESS ' "GOOD" SAMPLE ' is so proud to be sanctified ' more holier-than-thou, ' "no smoking or drinking or cursing allowed," etc. But telling people the truth ' warning them of danger because you are sincerely concerned about them ' trying to help them is not the same as being self-righteous ' holier–than-thou. Our Family needs to have more conviction to be able to stand up for the truth ’ tell people what they need to know!

8. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THAT YOU STAND FOR THE TRUTH IF YOU DON'T STAND UP FOR IT IN FRONT OF THE VERY PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING THE LIE ' DOING THE WRONG THINGS? What good is it to witness your convictions ’ how can you right any wrongs if you're not in direct contact with someone who is actually doing the wrong? When else would you have the opportunity? When somebody's doing something wrong‚ that's when you have the opportunity to tell them that you don't agree with them, you believe what the Bible says about it ’ you warn them or tell them because you want to help them! You don't just live it for yourself, but you believe it so much that you want them to live it too! That's love! You must sometimes warn the wicked of their wicked way in order to save their lives! (Eze.3:18) What kind of gutless Christians are we, anyway? Are our people ashamed to live their Godly convictions in front of others ' to tell them they should do the same? Do we compromise the truth to those who need it?

9. WHY SHOULDN'T WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH? Do you think we should just calmly accept it ’ act like it's nothing when people are cursing God ' enjoying it? Aren't we betraying Him by doing so? If people are swearing ' cursing every couple of words‚ shouldn't we tell those people what we feel about it ' make a witness out of it? Don't they deserve to hear the Gospel as much as anyone else, ' need it even more so?

10. WE DON'T HAVE TO BE ALL SELF-RIGHTEOUS ABOUT IT, THAT WOULD BE CHURCHY, BUT WE CAN TELL THEM IN A GOOD WAY! The man in the story I included in the Anecdote Book wasn't being self-righteous when he challenged a vulgar–mouthed unbeliever who was speaking against God ' cursing Him with, "Excuse me, but you're talking against the One Who means more to me than anyone in the World." Or another example was the man who responded to a blasphemous mocker, "You'd never consider talking in this way in my presence about my wife, whom I dearly love, but here you're talking about the One Who means much more to me than even my wife." Do you think he should have just sat there ' said nothing?—I don't think so!

11. I HOPE I'M WRONG, BUT FOR SOME REASON I HAVE THE FEELING THAT OUR PEOPLE HAVE GOTTEN SUCH A PACIFISTIC, SORT OF LOVEY-DOVEY APPROACH … WHERE THEY PREFER TO JUST LET EVERYTHING PASS ' NOT BOTHER TO STAND UP AGAINST EVIL OR WRONG-DOING, ' I think that's a very bad attitude. It's very wrong, because if you don't start standing up for the Lord in the little things, if you're afraid to confront evildoers, or just don't care or don't have the conviction‚ what are you ever going to do when you have to stand up ’ be counted in much greater things? Now of course we don't have such a list of "taboos" as the self-righteous Church System! Maybe we're not so strict about the same things they are‚ like sex ’ dancing, or going to movies ' drinking wine, but there are still some things that we definitely feel are wrong, so to never let anybody know what we think about them I think is very wrong too, as well as dishonest.

12. SPEAKING OF DISHONESTY: IN OUR DANGEROUS LIVES FOR JESUS‚ WE DO SOMETIMES HAVE TO [USE WISDOM] FOR VERY IMPORTANT REASONS, ' the Lord does not disapprove of this. ... In fact, He calls it being a "deceiver, yet true." [2Cor.6:8] ... [But] this is no excuse for not preaching honesty ' practicing it as much as we can. To the World, honesty is really pretty clear cut. They have a certain standard that they feel Christians should live up to, ' they judge you on, whether you meet it or not. Whether our standards are exactly the same doesn't matter! If we can be honest without risking the Lord's work or His laborers, we should be. We must realize how much it means to the System!—To those who witness our lives! Like the Apostle Paul said, "If meat causes my brother to stumble, yet it's OK for me, what am I supposed to do?—Destroy not him nor the work of God just over eating meat!" (Rom.14:15,20) I think we all need to consider how important the World considers things like honesty ’ truthfulness.

13. SOME FAMILY PEOPLE HAVE THAT ATTITUDE TO JUST BE EASYGOING ' WIN EVERYBODY BY LOVE ' DON'T WORRY ABOUT THEIR SIN OR EVIL. We don't talk much about sin, actual sin or even temptation, almost as if we base everything on the Scripture, "All things are lawful unto me" (1Cor.6:12), so therefore we conclude there isn't any sin any more for us.

14. IT SEEMS WE'VE GOTTEN A LITTLE WATERED-DOWN IN CERTAIN AREAS WHERE WE DON'T REALLY STAND UP FOR OUR CONVICTIONS! We figure our sins are not quite so "bad," we're special ' we can get away with more, which isn't a good attitude to have at all. It looks like we need to get back to being a little more legalistic in some areas ' not just throw out all the rules.—"Well, all things are pure ' OK, love ' mercy overrules, so we don't have to worry about any rules or limitations or personal sins." We'd better change our standard if this is our way of thinking‚ ' whether we think that way or not, other people don't believe the same way we do, ' what we do not consider "sins," the System ’ other people can consider as very big sins. So if they think so, we need to either teach them why these things are not so bad, or we need to watch out ' not stumble them, depending on the case.

15. THIS HONESTY PRINCIPLE HAS BEEN A STUMBLING-BLOCK FOR MANY OF OUR FAMILY'S FRIENDS‚ because [some of] our own people have freely ’ habitually told unnecessary lies, ' we've lost lots of good friends ’ contacts that way. The Bible talks a lot about honesty. So we'd find it very difficult to explain to the World or to other Christians why we are lying to them just to get ourselves out of a bad or embarrassing situation. … If we have lost people due to our necessary deception, we've certainly lost a lot more because of our deliberate, selfish sins of lying when we should ' could have told the truth. There are certain things, such as lying, that we should not allow, ' we should admit that they are sins! For example, lots of Family people don't get anywhere on time, yet don't realize that when we promise to be there at a certain time, we are lying if we don't get there at that time. And neither do we count being late as stealing other people's time. Dad has said some good things in the MOP section "Redeem the Time" about how stealing your own time or other people's time is just as bad as the sin of stealing anything else!

16. WE'VE GOTTEN SO SORT OF WISHY–WASHY‚ THINKING, "THE LORD FORGIVES US FOR EVERYTHING ' WE'RE HIS SPECIAL CHILDREN, SO THERE'S NO NEED TO WORRY ABOUT WRONGDOING. It'll all work out all right ’ we can get away with whatever we want to get away with." Whereas I think we're going to be surprised to see the Lord maybe expected more of us than He did of other people in a lot of areas because we know better ' we're supposed to be a wonderful sample ' yet many times we aren't! We're even a bigger stumbling block if we proclaim so much that "We're the Lord's chosen people! We are it!", ' then we act worse than the sinners!

17. There are some Godly areas ' good habits, like honesty ' punctuality ' consideration for others ' a few other areas where we're very sadly lacking, areas that we've neglected to keep a high standard in ' have stumbled a lot of people because of it.—Do you live an honest, Godly standard with firm convictions?

Emergency Notice: Owe No Man, Part 2

ML #866, DB 7.

1. (Dad:) The Scripture is very clear on the subject!: "Owe no man anything, save (except) to LOVE him", ' "Provide all things honest toward them that are without" (outsiders)—Rom.12:17; 13:8. The only kind of BORROWING we have ever condoned at all was a suggestion in a past Letter on "Deflation or Inflation" (No.327), in which we said that prices are not going to get any lower, they are going to go higher ' HIGHER as the inflation gets worse ' worse, so BUY NOW!

2. Therefore, if you're going to buy a vehicle or a TV or some appliance or accessory which is fairly expensive ' beyond the range of your IMMEDIATE CASH, I suggested that it would be better for you to buy it on TIME PAYMENTS, providing the DOWN PAYMENT or initial payment is SMALL enough that it's easily within your REACH ' the MONTHLY PAYMENTS are ALSO small enough that you can be sure that you're able to faithfully MEET them ' NOT default on them!

3. Otherwise you're being literally dishonest ' cheating your creditor ' breaking your word ' being a very poor testimony, ruining your credit ' being a reproach ' reflection on the Work of the Lord! Some have even asked if they should now borrow LARGE SUMS of money to buy REFUGE PROPERTY, even if they have NO capability of being able to pay it back: Since "The Crash is Here!" they think they won't HAVE to pay it back!

4. This is a very dangerous thing to do, ’ very risky! Unless you are SURE you have the ability NOW to handle the CASH DOWN PAYMENTS ’ the TIME PAYMENTS, the installments‚ I would certainly strongly advise AGAINST it ' counsel you absolutely NOT to do it!

5. You could get yourself stuck with a heavy debt that's impossible for you to pay‚ ' find yourself in a real mess ' financial tangle that could cost you EVERYTHING‚ ' lose you not only the PROPERTY but ALL of your possessions‚ as well as your GOOD NAME ' TESTIMONY—’ possibly even lose your FREEDOM ' your HAPPY HOME!

6. It's wrong, dishonest ' a sin to borrow money you know you can't pay back! It certainly is not love, not God's Love! So the old rule still applies: "Honesty is the best policy!" ' "Owe no man anything save to love him!" "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, ' loving favor rather than silver ' gold!"—Pro.22:1.

7. We even heard that one person got a credit card ’ is running up huge bills for camping equipment that he's totally unable to pay for, because he thinks that ALL things are coming to an end IMMEDIATELY ' he won't HAVE to pay the bills! Let me tell you right now, with most credit cards you have to make sizeable MONTHLY PAYMENTS EVERY MONTH, ' next month he is going to be in SERIOUS TROUBLE if he doesn't HAVE it!

8. Some countries will put you in jail for not paying your bills! It's cheating, lying, stealing, thievery, robbery, defrauding ' very bad ' very WICKED to do such things ' I'M TOTALLY AGAINST IT!

9. So watch your step! I don't think you can yet get away with any foolhardy foolishness such as running up big bills that you can't pay! That's absolutely against the SCRIPTURES, against God's Law of LOVE ' against everything we ever TAUGHT you! DON'T DO IT!—And God help you if you've ALREADY done it!—YOU are in TROUBLE!

10. If you really NEED it, He's well able to SUPPLY it without your BORROWING‚ stealing, cheating‚ defrauding or robbing others to get it! PRAY it in! PRAY for it, ' if God DOESN'T supply, then it's NOT His Will! Ask the LORD‚ ask your FAMILY, your FRIENDS, ask anybody you can to HELP you get it, ’ if it's GOD'S WILL ’ a GENUINE NEED that He knows will be GOOD for you‚ HE'LL see that you GET it ’ HE'LL supply it!

11. If He DOESN'T, then certainly He must know that it's NOT necessary ' NOT GOOD for you, ' He DOESN'T WANT you to have it! So you'd be going absolutely AGAINST GOD ' His Will to then go on in DEFIANCE of the Lord ' BORROW money to get it which you CAN'T afford to REPAY, thereby literally intending to STEAL it ' DEFRAUD the lender!

12. Borrowing without repaying is both ILLEGAL ' a sin, ’ God certainly will NOT bless you for it, ' more likely will PUNISH you for it! DON'T DO IT!—DON'T BORROW IT! "Owe no man ANYTHING save to LOVE him!"—That's God's WORD, ' you'd better BELIEVE it ' OBEY it!—Amen?

13. GBY ' help you!—And He WILL if you OBEY Him! "TRUST ' OBEY, for there's NO other way to be HAPPY in JESUS but to TRUST ' OBEY!"—Amen?—Amen! PTL! GBAKY from BORROWING!

The Hotel Marshal Dream

ML #1045:1-9, 24-37, 49-53, 137-139, Vol.9

1. (Dad:) WE WERE IN THIS SMALL SHOP. It seemed we were putting up curtain rods, apparently, on which to hang these long beautiful drapes across the shop windows, ' I lacked a part that I needed, a small part for the end of the curtain rod.

2. SO WE STOPPED WORKING ON THE CURTAINS FOR A LITTLE WHILE ' you ' I went in the back room ’ began to make love! … And I was enjoying it very much when suddenly we were interrupted by the doorbell or a knock at the door, somebody at the street door of the shop.

3. I WAS A LITTLE AGGRAVATED ' UPSET THAT WE WERE INTERRUPTED right in the middle of our real good fuck, but we stopped ’ we went ' answered the door ' here was this gentleman friend of ours. I guess I must have shown that I was a little upset at being bothered, because he apologized profusely ' said he was sorry but he had something to tell us, I don't know what it was—it apparently wasn't important enough that I remember it.

4. SO HAVING BEEN INTERRUPTED I DECIDED, FORGET IT, I'll go out now to some other shops ' try to find that piece of curtain rod that I need, that end piece‚ kind of a little extension piece. It's a real cheap thing‚ but that sort of thing usually is hard to find by itself; they usually come in sets along with the curtain rods.

5. SO I WENT INTO THIS ONE SHOP ’ I WAS IN THE BACK OF THE SHOP RUMMAGING AROUND THROUGH THEIR STUFF ’ I found this set that had the very little end piece that I needed. I never do such a thing ' I haven't done such a thing since I was a kid‚ ' why I should have done it in this dream I don't know, to risk life ’ safety ' liberty ' limb ' whatnot for something so cheap, I don't know!

6. BUT I DECIDED, "WELL, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO WANT TO BREAK THIS SET, they're going to insist on selling me the whole set to get this one little tiny piece, so I'm just going to slip it in my pocket ' they'll never know the difference!" So I did ' I walked out ' walked down the street feeling guilty ' worrying, "I wonder if they'll miss it or check their set to see if I took the piece out of it," ' I was kind of fearful of them maybe chasing me down the street or something ’ feeling guilty.

7. IT REALLY ISN'T WORTH IT TO RISK YOUR LIFE ' LIBERTY FOR A LITTLE THING LIKE THAT! In fact, that sort of thing keeps you living in constant fear that you're going to be found out, ' it's hardly worth the trouble. It's like the saying that "the coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave but one!"

8. THE THIEF, ROBBER, CRIMINAL ’ FRAUDULENT CHARACTER IS ALWAYS WORRYING night ’ day that he's going to be discovered ’ apprehended! He lives in constant fear, ’ this is a state of torture ' torment which I don't care to go through for anything inconsequential.

9. WE SOMETIMES WORRY A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OURSELVES ' OUR OWN PERSONAL SAFETY regarding our enemies because of our work, but I certainly wouldn't incur such fearfulness ’ fearful living just for a little piece of shoplifting! But for some reason or other in the dream I did, ’ I walked on down the street then.

24. AND ABOUT THAT TIME I WOKE UP OR WAS AWAKENED. So I lay there thinking about the dream ' wondering why in the World I should have such a peculiar dream, ' I still don't see any meaning to it unless it was a lesson to warn you not to try any shoplifting, it just isn't worth it.

25. YOU PAY A BIG PRICE IF YOU GET CAUGHT ' YOU PAY THE PRICE OF FEAR ' APPREHENSION IF YOU DON'T! And besides‚ it's not love ' it's unscriptural ' it's against the law ' it's not consideration for others ' it's stealing, it's theft, it's shoplifting, it just isn't right ' you shouldn't do it! It's very naughty of any of you that ever have ' if you've ever considered it.

26. I KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD ONE OR TWO OF OUR PEOPLE WHO CONFESSED TO IT ' we've severely reprimanded them for it. … [W]e just scolded them ' told them to never let it happen again.

27. ONE OF THEM, BY THE WAY WAS A VERY CHURCHY GIRL who had had a great deal of church background, reared in the church. She'd had also quite a bit of experience it witchcraft ' black magic ' the occult after her years in church ' before she came to us. In fact, she was at one time our cook in our kitchen—this has been years ago now.

28. ONCE AT CHRISTMAS TIME, WHICH SHE LATER CONFESSED, SHE HAD GONE OUT ' SEEN ONE OF THESE MULTIPLE JACKKNIVES that the Swiss make that contain a whole lot of different tools, ’ she remembered that her little brother had always wanted one of those. She said that before she'd been quite a kleptomaniac ’ accustomed to shoplifting ' it just seemed to come automatic to her just to take it ’ slip it in her purse when nobody was looking, bring it home, ' then she packaged it ’ mailed it off to her little brother for Christmas.

29. AND LATER, I'VE FORGOTTEN ON WHAT OCCASION IT WAS, IT APPARENTLY GOT EATING ON HER CONSCIENCE ' she began to realize we were just not that kind of people, ’ sometime or other when we were dealing with her on something she confessed that she had done that shoplifting. I reprimanded her very seriously ' made her promise she'd never do it again or we couldn't have her working with us. ... We understood later that she backslid ' went back to the U.S. ' is now more or less bitterly against us for some reason.

34. I TOLD YOU THE STORY OF HOW WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY A CASHIER GAVE ME FIVE CENTS TOO MUCH CHANGE, ' when I got out of the store ’ down the street ' discovered she'd given me this five cent piece more than she should have, called a nickel in the U.S.A., I immediately rushed back to the store ' gave it back to her!

35. SHE WAS SO SURPRISED THAT I, A LITTLE BOY, WOULD RETURN THAT NICKEL ' BE SO HONEST, she was just amazed ' she almost gave it to me! She said, "Why would you bring it back? It was only a nickel, ' after all, I would have never missed it!" I said, "You wouldn't want me to lose my soul for a nickel, would you?" She was rather astonished at that statement ' I went self-righteously along on my way!

36. OF COURSE‚ SINCE THEN I LEARNED THAT I WOULDN'T LOSE MY SOUL FOR BEING A LITTLE DISHONEST, but I could certainly lose my blessings or some of my rewards ' not be blessed by the Lord, in fact, even punished by the Lord, judged by the Lord ' chastised by the Lord for any kind of misconduct or misdeed or any breaking of His Law of Love, dishonesty, such as shoplifting, etc.

37. I HAVE A VERY HEALTHY FEAR OF THE LORD AS A GOOD FAITHFUL FIRM FATHER, that if I do anything I shouldn't, He is going to rebuke me ' reprove me ' try to get me to repent! And if I won't, that He will definitely chastise ' chasten ' spank me for my sins ' for my disobediences ' for my lack of love, or even a tiny little thing like not returning five cents over-change.

49. EVEN THOUGH SAVED, IF YOU DO THINGS THAT ARE WRONG, GOD IS DOING TO PUNISH YOU FOR IT if you don't repent ' make it right. He's going to chasten ' chastise you ’ spank you‚ ’ if you persist in your sins He's going to beat you with many stripes to try to persuade you to repent ' have a metanoia‚ a turn around‚ ’ go the right way.

50. AND OF COURSE IF YOU PERSIST IN SUCH SINS EVEN THOUGH SAVED‚ if you persist in such sins even to your death, the Lord is going to see that you get your punishment here ' now, Hell here, ' even hereafter you're going to receive some retribution for those sins ' misdeeds, unbelief, disobedience, rebelliousness, hurting others‚ causing others to stumble, leading others astray, whatever your sin may be—judgment here ' now!

51. So maybe the Lord intended to bring this dream to be a lesson to you regarding even a little thing that you may think is innocent ' not very important such as a little shoplifting such as a candy bar or something like that.

52. WE'VE HEARD THAT ONE OF THE CHILDREN IN THE FAMILY HAD SNITCHED A CANDY BAR off the supermarket shelf ' slipped it into his pocket while his mother ' father were shopping ' got out ' pulled it out later munching on it before he was caught by his folks! And thank God those folks immediately hustled him back to the cash register ' scolded him ' apologized to the cashier ' paid for the half-eaten candy bar ' the cashier smiled ' accepted it graciously ' was thankful.

53. SO YOU HAD BETTER TEACH YOUR CHILDREN NOT TO STEAL ' NOT TO SHOPLIFT ' NOT TO LIE, or even though saved or even though they have the Lord, even if they have Jesus in their hearts, if they're going to defy the Lord ’ His Spirit ' His voice ’ go ahead ' do things which are wrong, they're going to be in serious trouble if they don't very quickly repent ' make it right ' restore ' give it back or whatever is necessary to make it right if they possibly can, restitution.

137 In the dream when I did that little seemingly almost harmless bit of shoplifting‚ it was a backsliding, ' there's nothing small to the Lord! There's no really small sin ' there's really no such thing as a little "white" lie. Sin is sin ' even "he that breaks the least of one of these commandments shall be called the least in the Kingdom of God!" (Mt.5:19.)—But still in!

138. SO MAY THE LORD HAVE MERCY ON YOU TO CONFESS YOUR SIN ’ REPENT OF IT NO MATTER HOW SMALL, or you're going to suffer for it in some way. So may the Lord forgive you! Well‚ there's my final warning on my little talking clock, ’ this is my final warning to you that you had better repent! "Though your sins be as scarlet‚ they shall be as snow; though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool." (Isa.1:18.)

139. IF YOU WILL FORSAKE YOUR SIN ' TURN TO THE LORD, OUR GOD SHALL ABUNDANTLY PARDON, He has promised to do so. (Isa.55:7.) So may the Lord help you to confess ' help you to ask for forgiveness ’ repent of your sins ' come back to Him ' His service that He may bless you again, in Jesus' name! Amen.—AMEN?—TODAY!

Spokes of Light

ML #1399:8-9, 27, 32, 34, DB 7.

8. All this darkness of cover-up ' deceit ' hypocrisy ' deliberate lies, it's been HORRIBLE ' God's been FURIOUS about it ' HATES it!

9. I DON'T THINK THEY OR EVEN US REALISE HOW HORRIBLE IT IS, HOW IT LOOKS TO GOD!—The lies, the cover-up, the darkness, the hypocrisy, the deceit! It's everything opposite to God and the Spirit and the Truth and the Lord and Love.

27. THERE IS NOTHING HIDDEN THAT WON'T BE REVEALED! What was whispered in the ears now will be shouted from the housetops!—Mat.10:26‚27. God HATES cover-ups, He HATES hypocrisy, lies ' deceit!

32. SOMETIMES WE'VE GOT TO SEE SIN LIKE GOD SEES IT!—A STINKING, ICKY CESSPOOL! Ugh!

34. (MARIA: I JUST DON'T THINK PEOPLE REALISE WHAT DECEIT ’ COVER-UP IS, THAT IT'S REALLY LYING WHEN THEY SAY NOTHING ABOUT THINGS WE'RE SUPPOSED TO TALK ABOUT!) It's an ABOMINATION to the Lord, it's abomination!—Lying, deceit, hypocrisy! (Maria: It was the outright lying of people like Rachel that resulted in the Family doing the same thing‚ covering up ’ not saying anything. The Family has been just BOUND by that lying spirit!)

To Lie—Or Not to Lie?

ML #1400, DB 1.

1. WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ADVOCATES OF THE TRUTH!—If there's anything we claim to have it's the truth, ' if you tell people just one little lie they'll never trust you about anything anymore! If even one of you lies to them, they'll figure‚ "Oh well‚ they're all liars, they all lie then‚ so what they're telling me is not true!"

2. I've always said that the truth is the best policy, honesty is the best policy. Lying is just not right! I don't like it, I don't think God likes it—I'm sure He doesn't like it—' the person you're lying to doesn't like it! You're not even convincing when you're lying!—We can't lie convincingly because we feel guilty when we do it. So for God's sake, don't lie!

3. You know what they do in almost any court of law before a judge?—If the witness lies about only one thing, even if 99% of what he said is true, if he tells one lie, you know what they do with his testimony?—They throw out his entire testimony‚ even if all the rest of it was the truth, because he has perjured himself, meaning he has lied ' thereby disqualified himself from being a witness. And every one of these people we witness to is a little judge examining your testimony, ' if they catch you in one lie, they will debunk ' throw out everything you've told them! So except in some rare extreme ' unusual Spirit-led cases,

4. It's a terrible thing to tell lies! The Lord is against lying, He hates it! It is awful! God hates it! Liars shall have their part in the Lake of Fire, He says (Rev.21:8). A lot of it has to do with your motives ' the intents of your heart. Most lying is done to cover sins ' wrong doings. God does not like lying!—But that doesn't mean that as a Christian in the Lord's army you've got to tell people everything. Sometimes you only need to tell them part of the truth, not the whole truth.

5. PAUL SAYS, "AS DECEIVERS ' YET TRUE" (2Co.6:8). Sometimes you are almost compelled to deceive people, to make them think a certain thing when really that's not the thing. We're in a dangerous war ' when it's necessary to protect the security of the Lord's work ' His children you may have to lead people to believe that something is a certain way when it's really not that way.

6. There are even some cases in the Bible where God told people to lie‚ to deliberately deceive the enemy. When Nathan told King David that story in 2Samuel 12, he was deceiving him‚ trapping him. And in Kings, another prophet of God pretended to be a soldier ’ when King Ahab came along, he stood up ’ gave a big story about, "Oh, King, a certain prisoner was committed to my charge..."—’ the whole thing was phony, not a word of it true, but again he was doing it to trap the king (1Kg.20:35–43). In another case‚ God approved of a lying spirit to deceive a king! (1Kg.22:22). And in 2Ths.2:11, God says, "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." The law is the standard but there are always exceptions to the rules, particularly if God's the One Who makes the exceptions!

7. I hate to lie ' very rarely in my life have done it. It hurts me, bothers me—but if I have to do it to save my life, I might! And in a few instances, although I have not outright lied, I have deceived or said something that I knew would lead them to believe one thing when I really meant another, deliberately, in order to save some situation or spare someone or escape from something or whatever. It's very serious.

8. If you have to lie to save a life, I think it's worth it! And I think the people who would strain at a gnat of a little lie at a time like that ' swallow a camel of costing someone's life are just hypocritically self-righteous!—And let somebody go to prison or torture or death just because they weren't willing to tell one little falsehood to save them! But I certainly don't recommend it ' it would have to be an absolute extreme emergency.

9. SOME PEOPLE GET IN A HABIT OF LYING.—One lie leads to another. My Grandmother used to say: "One lie can never stand alone! It always has to have several others to prop it up."

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave‚

When first we practice to deceive!"

How true!

10. So for God's sake, don't wind up a perpetual liar! You don't have to tell everything you know, ' for the sake of security you don't always have to tell the whole Truth. And sometimes you may even have to say one thing that is true, but give the impression that you mean something else in order to protect yourself ' others from unnecessary trouble! But for God's sake ' His Work's sake ' your own sake, don't come right out with bold-faced lies that aren't even necessary ' that are going to require even more lying to prop them up!—God forbid!

11. Now when you're suddenly hit with a difficult question by surprise ' you're totally astonished ' you don't know what to say, the best thing to do is immediately pray ' ask the Lord to give you some kind of an answer. You can pray in a split second ' get the answer back right quick! But if you lean to your own understanding ' your own wisdom, you're apt to make a sad mistake!—And especially don't lie when it's so easy to disprove it, when it's so easy for them to find the truth ’ so easy to prove that you're lying.

12. There are always ways to answer questions evasively, without lying. Give them some other kind of an answer. I believe in telling the truth, but you don't have to tell the whole truth. So you've got to be prepared by the Spirit to sometimes sort of field questions or handle questions in some way that you don't actually lie‚ but you give the impression that something is or isn't so. Just ask the Lord for wisdom ’ always be prepared to give an answer (Ja.1:5; 1Pe.3:15).

13. Sometimes you can answer a question with a question. Look at all the times Jesus' enemies attacked Him‚ especially publicly: He almost always answered a question with a question. One time He said, "You tell Me this first ' then I'll tell you‚ but if you don't tell me I won't tell you." In other words‚ "If you've got a right to ask Me questions, I've got a right to ask you questions. You tell me first, then I'll answer you!" (Mt.21:23-27). Or He just fired back a question which they couldn't answer, ' that was the end of it!

14. SO ASK GOD FOR WISDOM! Ask God for the right answers! Ask God to show you what to say ’ to protect you ' the Truth! The Lord can give you some real smart answers, like the ones He Himself used ' gave His disciples, which still didn't tell His enemies what they wanted to know ' still didn't allow Him to land in their trap! Ask the Lord what to say! He's a lot smarter than you are, ' He certainly won't lead you to tell stupid, unnecessary ' damaging lies! May God help us! "As deceivers‚ yet true!"—Not liars! There's a difference!

Issues, Part 8

ML #3356:48-58, GN 951

Cheating the System?

48. (Question:) Is it okay to "cheat" the System? For example, some people will buy something from a store for a short period of time and then return it when they don't need it anymore. Or they'll buy something, and then when it's starting to wear out, return it and get a new one. There are all sorts of ways that you can cheat the System, and some people feel very justified doing it, because, after all, we're doing the Lord's work, and the companies or stores have plenty of money that they're not going to use for any good cause.

49. (Jesus:) This is one of those "ethical" questions, and there are always people on either side of the fence ready to defend their position. You're all wondering what I'm going to say‚ but before I answer the question, I'm going to go back a bit to My time on Earth.

50. My disciples were a group of young men, and they were human and had their quirks‚ just like anyone. Some of them in particular were rowdy and liked to defy the System. Some of them really hated it with a passion, and at times I had to keep them in line and keep the peace for the sake of our witness and sample. I needed all of them to be alive after I was gone, so that they could continue spreading the Word.

51. I had to tell My disciples to watch their behavior‚ their conduct, and to conduct themselves to the approval of most people—not the religious hypocrites‚ but the common people. ... I had to teach My disciples and impress upon them the responsibility they had to be good examples‚ because they were now bearers of the Word‚ carriers of the Gospel, and I gave them special powers and anointing in order to do that job—but they couldn't misuse it, or be a testimony against the Gospel.

52. That's where that verse "Let no man speak evil of you" comes into play—and it applies to you today just as much as it did to My disciples. Sure, there were no malls around then, nor any of the gadgets and things that you might want to "borrow" from the System for a time, then return and get your money back on. But believe Me, there were other things in our day along the same line. We didn't have any dwelling place. We rarely knew where our next meal was coming from, and we didn't have money to buy food and lodging. The Father supplied and it was sufficient, but not always the highest quality. Sometimes we abased and at other times we abounded. Some of My disciples were tempted at times to feel that as the Son of God, I deserved better, even if these things weren't given to us directly. Surely it was going for a good cause, and we would be blessed for furthering our work.

53. But no, that wasn't the way it worked. God wanted to supply for us‚ and can you imagine how tarnished our testimony would have been if one of My disciples had snitched something or taken more than was offered us? We had legitimate and valid needs—and I'm not talking about some cool piece of clothing, a camera, or something else that you want to pay for and then return later. I'm talking about food and clothing and shoes—you can't get around without those things! But it wouldn't have been right, or a good sample.

54. That applies to you as well. You have to be role models. You have to be lights shining in the midst of this dark world. If people see you doing things that don't measure up to their idea of what a Christian should be, then you're failing them, and you're failing Me. You're not being the disciples I trained you to be. Yes, the System can provide you with a lot, and I can provide you with all that you need, but for your sample's sake, you have to go about it the right way.

55. What is your motive? What does My Word say about it, and what do you think I would say about such actions that besmirch your sample and My name? If you have any doubts on the matter, come to Me yourself to ask Me for a confirmation of this. Each situation is different, but overall, doing that sort of thing is not good; it's a bad testimony and it will hurt your sample—and because you're an extension of Me, it will hurt people's faith in Me.

56. You should have more faith in Me, that I'm able to provide for you. I want to, you know? But if you choose to take another route that you think will provide your needs, or that is more "sure" than going from day to day trusting that I'm going to provide you with your needs through supernatural means—like getting your taxes from the mouth of a fish—then you'll pay the price that comes along with it.—And that could be hurting someone's faith or chance at receiving salvation because of your poor sample, decreased blessings, or a host of other things.

57. So I don't consider it worth it. I didn't do it‚ I told My disciples not to, and I'll tell you not to now. It's not healthy. It's simply not a good Christian sample.

58. That's not to say that you can't use the avenues the System provides for getting your needs, such as being able to return things where it's allowed when something really did break or was faulty, but it should be something that you don't have to hide, cover up, or hope nobody sees or finds out your true motivation for doing. You should be able to be upfront‚ honest‚ and able to explain it to your sheep. Could you do that? (End of message from Jesus.)

Charter Responsibilities

ML #3197:127-129, 132, 135–136, GN 803

127. (Peter: ) We are Christians, and as such, we are supposed to emulate the qualities of Jesus. We're supposed to be filled with His love and His concern for others. We're supposed to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness‚ goodness‚ faith, meekness and temperance. If you're not acting in love, if you're not showing outgoing concern for others, both within your Home and outside of it, then you're not fulfilling this responsibility. If you swear, steal, cheat, lie, speak evil of your brethren‚ continually criticize and put others down, cause discord within your Home or act in other unchristian ways, then you are not fulfilling this requirement.

128. Sadly, there have been numerous reports of Family members who are not faithful to fulfill their obligations to others in matters such as taking care of necessary legal paperwork, diligently attending to business matters which they have agreed to take care of and that other brethren are depending on them for, etc.

129. Another weak area that falls under the category of "fulfilling your obligations" is the stewardship of materials that are loaned to you by other Home members or other Homes. This means, for example, that if you borrow a vehicle or VCR from another person or Home, it's your responsibility to return it in good working order.

132. This part about fulfilling your obligations not only applies to your interaction with Family members but non-Family members as well. It means being on time for business appointments, diligently taking care of matters that you are required to by law, or that your friends and contacts are waiting on you for, such as getting certain paperwork done on time, etc. If you're not faithful to fulfill your part of the bargain when dealing with the System, and especially with your friends and contacts, you're apt to offend and lose them, as has happened too many times!

135. Dealing deceptively with each other or outsiders, stealing, shoplifting and getting drunk are examples of unchristian activities and certainly are a reproach to the cause of Christ and to the Family. ... If you want to be a Charter Member‚ then you need to be a positive reflection of the Family instead of a negative one.

136. As a Family member, you represent the Family to others. If you're disrespectful to outsiders or if you act in an ungodly manner, people will take what you do as a representation of our entire Family. Their impression of the whole Family—and in some cases, of Jesus and of Christianity—can be spoiled because of you and your bad sample.

Honesty/Dishonesty

MOP 1.

Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also the sight of men (2Cor.8:21).

1. Honesty is the best policy. Honesty pays.

3. Just because you must tell Systemites the truth doesn't mean you have to tell them everything!

4. Admitting Error clears the Score

And proves you Wiser than before.

5. To treat your facts with imagination is one thing, but to imagine your facts is another.

6. This is the punishment of a liar: He is not believed even when he speaks the truth.

7. It's not your business to decide whether it's going to cost you anything or not‚ or cause you trouble by telling on somebody else; it is your duty to tell, whether you like it or not, or whether he likes it or not! It is your duty to report something, and if somebody knows something's wrong and doesn't report it, then it is their fault as much as the actual perpetrators of the crime. Failure to report a crime is a crime!

10. It's a terrible thing to tell lies to try to cover up wrong doing. The Lord is against lying, He hates it!

11. If you lie about one little thing or break the smallest law‚ people figure you could be guilty of much greater things.

14. Falsification is the product of pride, an effort to hide the awful truth of which you are ashamed.

18. He that is not honest with himself cannot be honest with anyone else.

19. A guilty conscience needs no accuser.

20. Those who stretch the truth usually find that it snaps back.

21. You can fool some of the people all of the time‚ and all of the people some of the time‚ but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.

23. Striping away all the cover-ups and laying your heart bare before someone else is like the way you humble yourself before the Lord.

24. One of the greatest assets to a good relationship is honesty.

28. You pay a big price if you get caught stealing and you pay the price of fear and apprehension if you don't.

30. Better to speak truth rudely than to lie correctly.

31. It's better to report it and be wrong than not to report it and be right.

32. Hesitation to most people seems a sign of evasiveness and unwillingness to tell the truth!

33. If you're not honest with yourself, if you keep on trying to fool yourself, you'll do the same with God and others, and the result will be one awful mess—you'll make a mess of your own life, hurt all those associated with you‚ and hurt God most of all.

34. The best thing we need to do with faults and failures and mistakes and weak points is to see them, recognize them, be honest about them and then try to somehow overcome them or improve them and do something better if we can!

36. I hate to lie and very rarely in my life I've done it. It hurts me and bothers me, but if I have to do it to save my life I might do it. And a few times, although I have not outright lied, I have misled. I said one thing when I really meant another, and deliberately in order to save some situation or spare someone‚ or in order to escape some very serious situation. If you have to lie to save a life, I think it's worth it, but I certainly don't recommend it and it would have to be in and absolute extreme emergency.

37. As Shakespeare said, "If thou canst to thine own self be true, thou canst not be false to any man."

39. To treat your fact with imagination is one thing, but to imagine your facts is another.

40. LEV.19:13 Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him: the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all night until the morning.

41. PSA.24:3,4 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

44. PSA.62:4 They delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.

45. PSA.119:29,30 Remove from me the way of lying: and grant me Thy law graciously. I have chosen the way of truth: Thy judgments have I laid before me.

46. PSA.119:128 Therefore I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.

47. PSA.119:163 I hate and abhor lying: but Thy law do I love.

49. PRO.19:5 A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he than speaketh lies shall not escape.

50. PRO.24:28 Be not a witness against thy neighbor without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.

51. PRO.28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

53. ZEC.8:16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates.

54. MAT.19:18 Jesus said...Thou shalt not bear false witness.

55. ACT.5:3,9 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Then Peter said unto her, How it is that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

56. ROM.9:1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.

58. 2COR.4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, not handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

60. 2CO.8:21 Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

61. EPH.4:25 Wherefore putting away lying‚ speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.

62. COL.3:9‚10 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man‚ which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.

63. 1TH.4:6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

64. 1TH.4:12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without‚ and that ye may have lack of nothing.

65. HEB.13:8 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.

The Christian's Relationship to Worldly Society

6A–D, Word Basics.

6. The importance of an honest‚ sincere example:

A. Be a good example:

Mat.5:16Let your light so shine...that they may see your good works, ' glorify your Father in Heaven

Rom.13:3bDo...good, ’ thou shalt have praise of the [rulers]

1Thes.5:22Abstain from all appearance of evil

1Tim.4:12Be thou an example of the believers‚ in word, in conversation, in charity (love)

1Pet.2:13,14Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake...for the praise of them

1Pet.2:15With well doing...put to silence ignorance of foolish

Lk.6:27Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you

B. We are commanded to be honest in our dealings:

Rom.12:17bProvide things honest in the sight of all men

2Cor.8:21Providing for honest things...in the sight of men

1Thes.4:12aWalk honestly toward them that are without

Tit.2:10aNot purloining (stealing, pilfering), but showing all good fidelity

1Pet.2:12Having your (way of life) honest among the Gentiles

(See also Rom.13:13a; Heb.13:18.)

C. Do not bring reproach upon the cause of Christ:

Rom.14:16Let not then your good be evil spoken of

2Cor.6:3Giving none offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed

1Tim.5:14bGive none occasion to adversary to speak reproachfully

(See also Rom.2:23,24; 1Tim.6:1; Tit.2:5.)

D. Be blameless ' innocent:

Mat.10:16Sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, ' harmless (innocent) as doves

Phi.2:15Blameless ' harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke

Tit.1:6Blameless...having children not accused of riot

End of File