A cornered mouse never fights

I run as fast as I could. But i dont seem to cover distance... i seem a lot tired but i do not see the sweat on my brow. I can't see , not because i don't have sight but because its pitch dark..maybe thats why i can's see the distance covered.. its just one long narrow stretch and i dont find an end to it.. then i see it.. an end.. but not quite what i had hoped it would be.. a resting ground for my tired soul and body.. no.. not even close to that.. its a fiery hole.. with flames all around.. God!. why could i not see the embers and sparks from a distance .. i could have taken another way out... i turn back and everything is pitch dark as it was before.. i feel comfortable with the light around but not comfortable enough..the warmth of the flames are turning into leaps of hot air that are engulfing me...i cant believe it .. just one moment i was loking for warmth and now i am looking for some cold chill air to cool me down. How i wish i was still.. i should never have run.. should have been still.. now all that i know is that i am cornered.. and a cornered mouse never fights..

White Lies and Other Deceptions

Gregory Koukl

Is lying ever right? Is trespassing? Is violence? Some thoughts to help you sharpen your ability to make ethical decisions.

I think lying is wrong. However, we have to be clear on what constitutes lying, that is, immoral deception.

It seems that not all deceptions are immoral. Did you ever make a fake while playing basketball? Isn't such a feint a deception? It is, but I don't think most people would consider it immoral, even though it was, in fact, deceptive.
There are other examples. We dress to flatter our figures instead of being entirely truthful about our physical shape. We wear hairpieces if our hair is thinner than we'd like to show. There are times we're not forthcoming with all the truth. More could be said, but we withhold information.

So it seems reasonable to say there are "deceptions" we wouldn't really consider immoral--faking in basketball, trying to dress in a flattering way, or not being forthcoming with all the information we might have.

Incidentally, I don't think Jesus was always forthright. Take, for example, the woman at the well (John 4). Jesus had a goal He was not immediately forthright about. I don't see this as manipulation, though, but as sensitivity to the moment. If Jesus wasn't always entirely forthright in some cases, yet we know He never committed any sin, then that means it isn't necessarily a sin if you're not forthright about everything.
Take this example. You come into a store and want to get the best price for something you intend to buy. You've done some research, but you don't let on up front. Instead, as a tactical move you play stupid. There is a kind of deception here, one could argue, but I think you'd be hard pressed to call it sinful. It seems we're not obliged tell everything we know.

On the one hand, there are blatant deceptions that are clearly sinful. Then there also seems to be a category of deceptions that don't rise to the category of sin. Then you have, in the middle, situations I would call moral dilemmas. These are more difficult judgment calls.

A moral dilemma is when you must choose one of two things, but either thing would be wrong to do when taking on its own. Do you endanger a human life, or do you tell a lie? If you choose to tell the truth, and may you do right by telling the truth, but it seems you do wrong by exposing a human being to serious harm. If you protect the human being by lying, well, you've saved a life, but told a lie. That is a moral or ethical dilemma.

There are a couple of different ways Christians have approached this historically. One is to claim there really is no such thing as an ethical dilemma. Some will say you should never lie, you should always tell the truth, and let God worry about the consequences.

What if you see a woman run into an alley to escape someone who's trying to kill her, and they ask you, "Where is she?" What do you do? Do you send them on a wild goose chase to protect the woman's life? Or do you lead them to their victim?
Some would say you are morally obliged to tell exactly where she's hiding and let God take care of it. But that option can cut in both directions. Why not protect her by lying and let God take care of it by forgiving the lie? Which do you choose? This question is at the heart of all ethical dilemmas.

The Bible gives us some guidance on this. It teaches that not all sins are the same. Some are more egregious than others. This is very clear in the Scriptures. Jesus said to Pilate, "He who delivered Me up to you has the greater sin" (John 19:11). According to Jesus, some sins are greater than others.

Common sense alone tells us that stealing a pencil is not as serious a crime as taking someone's life. Make no mistake, it's still a sin, and even a small sin is enough to make us guilty before God. But all sin is not the same to God. He certainly does make distinctions. And because God makes distinctions, it's possible for us to solve ethical dilemmas. When stuck between two options, we choose the greater good.

What about so-called "white lies." Are they okay since they're only small deceptions? My rule is this: I think people should tell the truth unless they have a more weighty moral reason not to be straightforward.

If my wife asked me if I thought she was overweight and she was, I wouldn't say, "No, honey, you're perfect." First, she probably knows better. Second, I think she'd actually be looking for affirmation from me, not really an assessment of her weight. I'd tell her what I thought, but would be careful to do it in a way that protected her as an individual. I'd let her know that being overweight wouldn't change my love for her.

Here is another example, a classic for single guys. A guy goes out on a date and doesn't enjoy himself, so he wouldn't be inclined to ask the young lady out again, though he suspects she enjoyed herself and would like to get together again. What does he say when he drops her off? He isn't going to say, "I'm never going to call you again," yet he doesn't want to just walk away and say nothing. Because of the awkwardness he says, "I'll call you," but he doesn't intend to and never does.
I think that's wrong. There is no moral reason to lie to her. He's just saving himself from a little awkwardness, but he's telling an untruth.

I also think it's wrong to tell children that Santa Claus is real. It accomplishes no superior moral purpose. It's only deception. Children might eventually believe you've deceived them about God, too. They can't see Santa and they can't see God, either. There's no good reason to create a problem by starting with a deception.
It takes some moral development to be able to solve ethical dilemmas. People who aren't working at it will not be capable of making good ethical decisions because they are not alert to ethical distinctions.

J. P. Moreland once asked why he should trust the moral judgment of a professor, or Hollywood star, etc., if they have not given any effort to developing their moral sensibilities. You might ask the opinion of somebody like Mother Teresa who has given her life to doing good and developing virtuous behavior. Through practice, she has developed her sense of ethical judgment. But why go to anybody who hasn't done anything to develop their ethical sensibilities and who basically is committed to ethical egoism? Why should we accept their instruction?

Why should we accept Hollywood's ethical assessment on anything? Why should we care what a movie star thinks about homosexuality, or abortion, or any other ethical issue? I'm not trying to commit genetic fallacy here and say that movie stars know nothing. What I'm saying is that what we see in most of those people, once we've been exposed to their private lives, are people who are deeply consumed with self. Their lives are about themselves, not about living morally. Why should we care what their ethical assessment is on anything? They are not qualified.

We can only be adept at solving ethical problems if we give some effort to thinking about it and to living the ethical life.
I think lying is right sometimes. I think Rahab did right when she lied about the spies. I think the Hebrew midwives did right when they lied to Pharaoh to protect the lives of the Hebrew children.

I think trespassing is right sometimes. I think violence is right sometimes. I think there are many things that, in isolation, would be wrong, but when a higher moral good is served, they not only become not wrong, they become obligatory. That's hard for some to accept.

Rahab was obliged to lie to protect the lives of those spies. Both James and the writer of Hebrews applaud her for her action. They didn't say, "Shame, shame, but I guess you chose the lesser of two evils." Instead, they acted like she chose the greater of two goods. She did what was right.

I think that's the Biblical view. In Acts 4, the apostles were told to disobey the government and preach the gospel. Paul says that we are obliged to obey the government. Yet when the government tells us to disobey a higher command of God, then we are morally obliged to disobey the government. We have to choose the greater good, as the disciples did.

It is Finished but its not OVER - Good Friday

Good Friday!!

Being from India, its really funny when people come and wish you " Happy Good Friday".. I used to find it really odd at school and would very promptly correct them saying that they were'nt supposed to wish anyone on Good Friday.. and that too "Happy Good Friday".....Sounded so ridiculous.. so naive...Was it not a day of mourning?? Was it not a day to be serious and fast??? But when years passed by , i wondered whether I was being naive about it..

Good Friday is a day of celebration!... a day of deliverance of our sins......It is HAPPY......

The church service on this day is usually confined to the 7 words spoken on the Cross....and there is no doubt that , that is the essence of that day and every interpretation of those words hold so much meaning for us....

I imagine the Gospel writers standing below the cross and mentally noting down these words as they were uttered...so that we, after 2000 yrs will still know what happened on that fateful day.. They could have just noted down the atrocities done and then quickly wrapped up the death part. But they went to this amount of detail so that we could LIVE it as if we were standing there and witnessing the crucification.. all this to be abe to experience that Friday long ago and understand what it meant dying for us....

Apart from the meaning of the 7 sentences spoken on the cross, what i would like to take back is

1. Sacrifice --- He sacrificed so that we may know the meaning of that word. Sacrifice not only for the people He knew but for the countless people on earth.....I usually find myself smiling smugly or feeling elated at the thought of doing a sacrifice.. i feel that i have done something victorious and that i shoudl be appreciated for it by man and God... that i shoudl be rewarded for being sensitive and generous. but thats got to change... Everytime I sacrifice, i would want to remind myself that no sacrifice is too great....

2. Not leaving the Father -- Come what may, i will not leave the Lord's side... with the last breath that He had left, He chose to call out to His father.... He started with calling out to his Father and tilll the end clung on to Him...When Jesus was baptised, God spoke out and said that He was pleased with His son.. why did'nt He speak again from the clouds when Jesus was actually doing the ultimate thing to please Him...That woudl have been so motivating for Him.. to get an anwer from heaven .. a word of acknowledgment or a pep talk... But thre was silence......Jesus still clung on ... with no hopes for last minute rescue missions or a thunderous applause from the skies.... He just clung on...... I got to learn that from Him.. Cling on..... no matter what.. Easier to cling on to HIm than break your brains (and others) on thinking of what to do...

2. Sad days are actually Happy days ---- When Jesus died that day,all those who belilved in the prophesy knew that Jesus would rise again.. they wer'nt sad that Jesus was going to die .. they were eager for the joy and happiness when they knew that the Saviour would rise again.. they looked upon the Propheesy as a promise.. a promise that had to come to pass. This continues still.. During my supposidly sad days, i am not going to be sad.. for i would want to be more eager to know what joy lies ahead of this pain.. There is a prophesy that needs to be fulfilled..the prophesy is very much any promise that comes from the Bible to me.... The one that should currently keep me going is

Genesis 1:22God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth."

When i feel disappointed or sad, or dejected...., i want to remind myself that it may have finished but its not over...

When ye pray, use not vain repetitions -Matthew 6:5-8

I have often wondered, when Jesus himself gave a model prayer to use in the Gospel of Matthew, why do we still speak numerous words and more so repetitive words everyday when we bow our heads in prayer?

Then I thought harder and I know that the Lord helped me understand this. The Lord's prayer is composed of words , simple enough that could be passed through the ages without corrupting or convultaing its meaning. But more than words, it was also a "pattern" for mankind to know what a "perfect" prayer could be..


Praise, surrender, obedience, supplication ,confessions, abstinence, Praise.

The Lord's prayer was a good guideline then and a good guideline now.

Did you notice one important part missing from this pattern. Something that we are taught in sunday schools and what all preachers do? Yes, its Thanksgiving. That is the most spontanous part of PRAYER. That is what extends the meaning of Prayer to "talking with the Lord". Many verses in the Bible ask us to pray in Thanks and Praise and Faith. This is necessary to know Jesus more personally and tell him the happenings of the day. The Lord's prayer is Perfect because HE gave it to us. He did not include Thanksgiving...But thats the whole point... Thanksgiving in prayer is something that we give back to Him without Him asking for it! Does'nt it feel great to give something to a person when that person least expects it?

Even if your pattern of prayer is Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks , He is going to be one pleased Father...

I really do not agree when people pray about the same thing everyday. I have done it too. Does God need so much follow up?

You have made your needs known to Him. Trust is the next thing. Trust that all things will come to be by His will.

When you ask , ask it with all your heart. Just like talking to a friend or your parents. Do you go about reminding them everyday till they give it to you?

But yes, if there is someone critically ill, you pray for that person and everyday you narrate the hardships the person is going through and pray for that person again. Thsi is not repetitive .This is talking to God and updating Him on the situation.

As if He does not know , you may ask.... But He loves to hear it from you.. just like an over indulgent parent..... Just like when we usually go home from a tired day at school, pour out all the days happenings to our loved ones... an update on the annual day function, complaints about the new math teacher, an outcome of a test, a lie that you could not avoid, thanking them for the new pen that wrote so smoothly etc etc.. And when you are done talking, you feel a sense of peace.. Its the same way with prayer i guess.

Pour out your heart to Him.. tell him what you read in the newspapers and what happened in office today.. make it interesting for Him !!!! and dont forget the Perfect Pattern....cause that is what reminds you that you are talking to a Perfect being and that my friends is an Honour!!

One more thing. You can have the liberty of praying anywhere and anytime...When you have the time, you can be well assured that He makes Himself readily available.



http://www.allaboutprayer.org/what-is-prayer.htm