You have perhaps heard the expression, “Ignorance is no excuse.” Normally, this statement is applied when someone is guilty of a transgression of some sort, but pleads that he did not know what he did was wrong. We like to think that there is an allowance made for those who don’t know what is expected of them, and, to some extent, there often is. However, the damage done by some transgressions is just as great whether or not ignorance played a role. Therefore, ignorance should be cured at all costs, and, in the meantime, the reprimand resulting from ignorant transgression is that there is still no excuse. On the other hand, others who are fully aware of accepted behavioral standards still feel that violation of those standards is alright under certain circumstances. For example, at 1 Samuel chapter twenty-one, David was fleeing for his life from King Saul. He came to the house of God in Nob in the course of his flight, where Ahimelech the priest asked him about his business. David’s reply was that the king had sent him on a secret mission of haste, and he hadn’t even time to even prepare the items he needed to take with him. Of course, David’s words were false, but he no doubt thought he was justified to lie in order to cover the desperate situation in which he found himself. Whether God accepted that reasoning is up to no one but the Almighty Himself. However, we do know that Revelation chapter twenty-one warns us that no one guilty of lies will inherit the kingdom of heaven. To fear for one’s life would certainly cause one to seriously consider compromising those honest morals. However, at Matthew chapter ten, Jesus commanded that we should not fear one able to kill only the body. Rather, we should fear Him who is able to destroy body and soul in hell. Given that consideration, telling a lie to save the body seems to have a relatively small potential for reward when it may cost the soul in eternity. To be sure, I’d rather lose mortal life now than to lose eternal life for evermore. That reminds me of another expression about being able to “see past your nose.” That one refers to people with a lack of vision for the future. “Sighted” individuals will consider not the short term effects of the decisions they make now, but the eternal effect the decisions of the present will have on the immortal soul.
Written and Recorded By: David Hayes Prophater