THRONE OF LIES

throne of lies

Our three daughters. One drove in from college, the other straight from work in scrubs to see the youngest in the school play.

“Can you rub my feet Dad”? she asked. “Your feet hurt babe”? I asked already knowing the answer. “Yeah, they’re killing me”! was the immediate response. “That’s the price you pay for stardom”! I added with humorous sarcasm. Our youngest’s new shiny red Dorothy slippers from her school play weren’t built for comfort.

“Let me finish this first,” I added not looking back up. “YOU SIT ON A THRONE OF LIES”!!! she half yelled as she began to laugh. I recognized the line, but couldn’t place it. I too began to laugh at her wit, “What’s that from”? I asked laughing. “It’s from Elf”! she replied as our laughs began to turn into belly laughs.

“Oh yeah – when he was in the department store with the fake Santa Clause”! – “You sit on a throne of lies”! I repeated still laughing at our youngest’s response. “Alright” – “Come here you little Sneaker-McGee”! (one of a zillion nicknames). I stopped what I was doing and to rub my little one’s clammy feet.

We don’t watch that many movies, but the ones we watch, we use quotes from in humor and fun. They come to us naturally: we adopt someone else’s writing for our own purposes, sometimes humor, sometimes to make a point. When it comes to things of a serious nature, we don’t quote movie dialogue, in fact when things get tough, humor is the last thing on our minds.

If our exposure or lifestyle has been violence, there’s a good chance we will revert to it when pressed. If pouting is the world we’re trained in, then pouting it shall be. When you face difficult times, what is your natural response? What pops into your head or instinct? There comes a time in all of our lives when our self-reliance won’t be enough. As big, bad, and strong as we or our spouse may be, it won’t be enough to best the forces of this cosmos.

We have another practice around our house, and this is my reminder to myself that we need more of it. When a situation arises, sometimes not in just difficulties, but also in times of blessings, we quote scripture. The mightiest of all sources – God himself reveals His words within. Those words, while not always exactly what we desire at the time, do something beyond what is explainable in our flesh. It comforts… Truth has a way of doing that… God is truth…

When we face the truth, even when it hurts, there is peace, there is relief from within. Lies only put off the inevitable; pain… We can laugh, joke, lie, and steal from ourselves or others, but in the end we can’t outrun the truth of God’s word… “It is sharper than any double-edged sword”…

Interestingly enough, I’ve used the old line from The Wizard Of Oz, “Oh Toto – I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” more than a few times in our youngest daughter’s life. Now I get to watch our youngest say it with a straight face, right before she sings… This outta be fun… I hope she doesn’t slip up and say, “We’re not in Phoenix anymore”!

I’d never be able to live that one down…