Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

• Exodus 20:16

“‘Do not steal. “‘Do not lie. “‘Do not deceive one another.

• Leviticus 19:11

God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and notfulfill?

• Numbers 23:19

“We must have lunch real soon, your luggage is checked through
We’ve got inflation licked I’ll get right back to you
It’s just a standard form tomorrow without fail
Pleased to meet you, thanks a lot, your check is in the mail

Marooned, marooned, marooned in a blizzard of lies
Marooned, marooned, marooned in a blizzard of lies
Your toes and knees aren’t all you’ll freeze

When you’re in it up to your thighs
It looks like snow but you never know
When you’re marooned in a blizzard of lies

You may have won a prize, won’t wrinkle, shrink or peel
Your secret’s safe with me, this is a real good deal
It’s finger lickin’ good, strictly by the book
What’s fair is fair, I’ll be right there, I am not a crook

Marooned, marooned, marooned in a blizzard of lies
Marooned, marooned, marooned in a blizzard of lies
Better watch your step when your old dog Shep

Can’t even look you in the eyes
You’re cold and lost and you’re double crossed
When you’re marooned in a blizzard of lies

We’ll send someone right out, now this won’t hurt a bit
He’s in a meeting now, the coat’s a perfect fit
It’s strictly fresh today, service with a smile
I’ll love you, darling, ’til I die, we’ll keep your name on file

Marooned, marooned, marooned in a blizzard of lies
Marooned, marooned, marooned in a blizzard of lies
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you’re in for a big surprise

When you’re marooned, marooned
Marooned, marooned, marooned in a blizzard of lies
A blizzard of lies”

• David Frishberg, Blizzard of Lies

Some have argued that telling a white lie is not a bad thing.  While you might argue that the wording of the Ninth Commandment indicates in a courtroom setting, trying to get monetary gain by giving a false testimony, the following lists of miscellaneous rules clearly state to not lie.

People gang up on the Gestapo, but I have heard the argument that if your friend was being chased by the Gestapo and you hid him in your hall closet.  Would it be acceptable to lie about not having seen said friend when the Gestapo knocked on the door?  Or would you be compelled to say that he is in the hall closet.  Let me show you the way?

Just as the commandment to not murder refers to murder as opposed to killing in self-defense or killing in wartime, there can be some occasions where a lie might save someone’s life.  But the idea of an acceptable white lie is mostly farfetched.  Ask yourself if you can simply not say anything at all.

And if telling a fictional story, clearly identified as a fictional story, is getting you into trouble, there are a lot of people who would be guilty.  Jesus Himself, the One without sin, told parables.  Making the story plausible does not make it any less fictional.  Parables and Allegories are great ways to illustrate a spiritual concept.  In fact, there are many people who shut down when you preach, but they could listen to fictional stories all day long where you tell them the same points that were in the sermon.

But this comical song by Dave Frishberg illustrates that there are “socially acceptable lies” that we live with all the time.  One that he did not include was “Your call is important to us so stay on the line.”  I have no idea how many times I have yelled into the phone, with no one on the other end of the line (while on hold) …  I have yelled, “NO!  This call would be answered by now if the call was important to you!”

I have heard almost every one of the lies in the song.  They are part of the fabric of our world today.  They are insulting to those who prefer honesty, but they are so commonplace, few people complain.  They smile, knowing that the person who says the lie is not going to tell you the truth or they could lose their job.

So, we smile and nod.  We know they are lying, but in a way, our being polite in the situation might help someone else continue their employment.

And be assured that God does not lie.  He does not fail in fulfilling a promise.  With Him, there is no uncomfortable smile that says, “I know you are lying to me.”

Our money may say “In God we trust” when that saying may not be true about our government.

But the statement is one of the few things we can rely upon.

In God, we trust.

Here is Susannah McCorkle singing Blizzard of Lies.  Susannah McCorkle was a breast cancer survivor but died of suicide, having bouts of depression.  She recorded this song by Dave Frishberg, maybe because Dave Frishberg played piano for her first record that she made.  But if we focus on the lies and not upon God’s promises, we might all become depressed.

If you want more of Dave Frishberg music, here is a classic.  The entire song reminds me of the old Steve Martin routine where Martin proposes to make people laugh by reading the names and numbers from the telephone book.  I saw him live doing that routine.  It was funny because it was pathetic, and he didn’t care.  When he doesn’t get laughs fast enough, he puts on a fake arrow through his head, a clown nose, whatever he can do to prove that a comic does not need to tell jokes.

Here is Dave Frishberg singing Van Lingle Mungo.  The lyrics to the song are simply names of baseball players.  Most are forgotten in baseball lore.  Johnny Mize, Lou Boudreau, Roy Campanella (in the recording only), and Early Wynn are Hall of Famers, but most are forgotten except for their families.  Johnny Pesky and Johnny vander Meer are not in the Hall of Fame, but pardon the pun, their names ring a bell.  In improving on a tabletop baseball game, I have poured over the baseball stats of yore, but the rest of the names in the song are lost on me. Other than the name, was Van Lingle Mungo remembered for anything else?  Mungo was said to be a hot head.  Casey Stengel, at one time the manager of the team Mungo was on, once said that he got along great with his pitcher, Van Lingle Mungo.  “I just tell him I won’t stand for no nonsense, and then I duck.”

We may put up with the lies told to us, even when we know they are lies, but we can refrain from telling lies to the liars in our midst.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.