Day Nine: Soap Opera (Genesis 20)

"Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, 'She is my sister.' So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace."

Genesis 20:2, NLT

Ay, ay, ay.
Genesis 20 reads like a soap opera.
(I've never liked soap operas.)

Abraham, why? Why did you have to lie and cause all of that unnecessary drama?
(I've never liked unnecessary drama.)

How could you do such a thing to poor ol' unsuspecting King Abimelech? He trusted you.

Lies.
Little lies, big lies, or white lies--
they all have the same underlying motivation: F E A R .

When I think back to the lies I've told they've all been because of things like...
Fear of losing my job.
Fear of a tarnished reputation.
Fear of admitting the truth.
Fear of hurting someone's feelings.

It's all fear.

Poor Abimelech. The unsuspecting victim to Abraham's fear-based decision.
After God revealed the truth to Him, he promptly did the right thing, returning Sarah (along with endless apologies and loads of gift offerings) to Abraham. 

Abimelech asks the question we're all thinking:
"Whatever possesed you to do such a thing?"
(Insert my chuckling here.)

And Abraham's response, "I thought, this is a godless place. They will want my wife and will kill me to get her." BOOM. There it is. Fear.

I'm sure that felt good to get off his chest. 
But then he continues, his response somewhat reminiscant of the last time my second-born-son got caught in a lie: Abraham says, "And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers." 

L.O.L.
Come on, man.

Was it really worth it- potentially ruining his reputation as a man of God, and his relationship with the King? 

Regardless of my distaste for drama, I'm thankful God's Word has stories like these that help me recognize my own weaknesses, and identify the underlying causes. 

My prayer is that next time I find myself in a situation where I am tempted to lie-- even a "little white" lie-- that I will stop and ask myself what the root fear is.

May I live in the light, walking in truth and faith, instead of lies and fear.

Dwelling in Him,