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A man of perverse heart does not prosper; he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble

(Proverbs 17:20). Bonus Reading: Psalm 24:3-6

In 1899, reporters for the four Denver newspapers met by chance on a Saturday night in the railroad station. Each, as signed to find a scoop for the Sunday edition, hoped to spot an arriving celebrity.

When none showed up, the reporters discussed options in a nearby saloon. Before long they agreed to make up a story—such a whopper that no one would question it. A phony local story would be risky, so they decided to write about someplace far away. "What if we say that some American engineers, on their way to China, told us they are bidding on a major job: the Chinese government is planning to demolish the Great Wall?"

"But why would the Chinese ever do that?" objected one. "As a sign of international goodwill," they decided; "to invite foreign trade."

Next day all four Denver papers carried the story on page one. It soon ran in papers in the Eastern U.S. and even abroad.

Chinese citizens were indignant—especially members of a secret society formed to oppose foreign intervention. Moved to action by the report, they attacked foreign embassies in Beijing and murdered hundreds of missionaries in what we know as the Boxer Rebellion.

R. Kent Hughes in Disciplines of a Godly Man

When have you seen deception catch up with a person?

Mischief all comes from much opening of the mouth.

Chinese Proverb

Credits: Adapted from--Thursday: Disciplines of a Godly Man (Crossway, 1991)

1999 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity. For reprint information call 630-260-6200 or e-mail mail@menofintegrity.net.
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