Sunday Leftovers: Hostage Series #6 -- Lies

In July of 2004, the Arizona Game and Fish Department began nursing more than 30 emaciated, dehydrated, banged-up pelicans. During the previous two weeks, the injured pelicans had been found from Yuma to Phoenix.

The brown pelicans were injured when they descended from the sky, sailed low over sidewalks and asphalt highways, stretched out their feet as though to make a perfect splash landing in water, and then tumbled end over end when they instead hit the pavement.

The pelicans, apparently suffering a food shortage in California, flew to Arizona looking for fish. From the sky, the shimmering hot air over the black asphalt appeared to the Pelicans like water. Down they flew for fish and a refreshing dip in a lake. What they found instead was solid pavement, dehydration, hunger, and near death. Reality hits hard.

Thankfully, the Arizona Game and Fish Department came to their rescue.

Charlie Chaplin was a huge movie star in the silent-picture era. One of the by-products of his popularity were the look-alike contests that sprung up around the country. Contestants attempted to imitate Chaplin dressed as the “tramp” character he made popular in his films. Even the young up-and-coming actor Bob Hope entered such a contest in Cleveland, Ohio, and won.

Legends have sprung up that Chaplin himself took part in one contest. Steve Chandler in his book 100 Ways To Motivate Yourself says Chaplin was on holiday in Monaco when he decided to enter a Chaplin look-alike contest. Others cite the incident as taking place in Switzerland.

Although the event has been embellished through the years, it did occur. Chaplin entered a look-alike contest in a San Francisco theatre. Amazingly, Chaplin failed to even make the finals.

In a similar way, sometimes the lies of this world seem more real to us than the truth of God. Discovering the truth takes effort.

Millions of us in America are baby boomers, born between 1948 and 1964. That's one out of every three people in America. Our entire generation was brought up on the book of all time, next to the Bible, Dr. Spock's Baby Book. Dr. Spock expressed his opinions about what he thought was the proper way to raise children. Just a few years ago, Dr. Spock, now in his seventies, held a press conference and said, "Oops. I was wrong. That's not the best way to do it. I'm sorry. Never mind."

I'm thinking, "Well, thanks a lot. It's a little late. I'm already dysfunctional!"

An entire generation was raised on a style of parenting that studies later confirmed just didn't work. The average life of a science textbook is just eighteen months. After that, it's out of date because knowledge is increasing so rapidly.

In a world where something's changing every day, you don't want to put your faith in something you can't depend on tomorrow. Luke 21:33 says, "Though all heaven and earth shall pass away, yet my Word shall remain forever." God's Word has stood the test of time. You can trust it as your guidebook, as your authority, as your basis. Why? Because it is based on God's character. It is impossible for God to lie. If you want something to build your life on that's solid, you'd better build it on God's truth.