Key Bible Verse: I speak the truth and hate every kind of deception. … There is nothing crooked or twisted (Proverbs 8:7-8). Bonus Reading: 1 Thessalonians 2:1-5

At the church college group I began attending as a freshman, the college pastor delivered a stirring message on sharing the gospel with our friends. Then he passed out a "Religious Interest Survey" that featured a series of questions leading up to the clincher: "What do you believe about Jesus?" He urged us to use it to poll students in our dorms, then invited questions.

"What's the deadline for getting these surveys back to you?" I asked.

The pastor responded with a chuckle, "Oh, don't worry about that. We aren't going to tabulate the results. This is simply a way to get people talking about Jesus."

"But if we tell people this is a survey," I followed up nervously, "aren't we implying that we actually care about their answers? Is it honest to call this a survey when we're not really surveying what people think?"

"Look," he replied with a touch of irritation, "it's a survey; we're just not tabulating the answers. Lots of businesses and churches do things like this. It's just a conversation starter. If you don't want to do it, you don't have to."

I didn't take any "surveys" back to campus. Nor did I return to that college group.

—Mark Roberts in Dare to Be True

My Response: Where am I expected to bend the truth? Have I gone along?

Thought to Apply: Some people live their whole lives just around the corner from the world of truth. —CARL F. H. HENRY (journalist, theologian)

Adapted from Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

I realize, Lord, that You desire honesty from the heart. But I kid myself and fudge the truth to impress others. Help me to change.

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