When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why, then, did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. “What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not,’ but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same, and he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him, and even after you saw it you did not change your minds and believe him. (Matthew 21:23-32, NRSVue)
This parable at the end of this text, which was the reading from Mark for yesterday’s devotional, is always an interesing one for me.
Which son did what the father asked them to do? Neither of them did. The answer is neither, because the first said no, and the second said he would and did not. It does not matter that the first felt bad and changed his mind. Neither of them honored their father. Now we could argue the first did, because they eventually went, but they initially said no, which is, honestly, in my opinion, no better than the second lying and saying they would go and then not going.
All of this is about integrity. It is about walking the walk and talking the talk. Being who you are all the time.
People should be the same person in person, and online. And when you wonder what to say, speak the truth. The truth is always the right thing to say.
Do not change your answer or who you are based on the group you are with or the understanding of what people want to hear.
Speak the truth in love. Always.
