What is the truth? No one speaks it anymore. —Jeremiah 7:38 (King Jimmy Translation)
Dachshund in Denial
“Hang on. I need this hundred-pound block of salt to go with what you just said.”
I want to say this when dealing with a known liar. Once someone is caught lying, from that moment on, everything they say is questionable. Regaining trust in them takes time, and then you’re still skeptical of what they say. Are they telling the truth, a half-truth, or peddling another whopper?
Your humble Aggie scribe recently witnessed blatant lying despite indisputable evidence to the contrary. No, I’m not referring to Congress—their half-truths are a given. I’m talking about that lying, low-down Skipper, my seven-year old dachshund. Here’s the scene.
Saturday mornings are lazy around the Aggie homestead. Mrs. Aggie gets to rest while I whip up an old-fashioned country breakfast. My queen of nearly four decades is treated to sausage or bacon, eggs, biscuits, sausage gravy [SOS] juice and coffee. In pleasant weather, I cook on the patio.
The heavy rains this recent Saturday morning forced me inside to ply my Chef Boyar-Aggie-dee skills. The aroma of sausage drew my two dachshunds, Daisy and Skipper, closer to me than Jesus.
“Don’t worry, guys’” I said to my hounds. “This sausage isn’t anyone you know.” Deep down, I believe even if this sausage was one of their pooch friends, they wouldn’t care.
“Soup’s on, babe,” I called to Mrs. Aggie, as she stretched from her restful slumber. “Come and get it.”
Skipper and Daisy danced around my feet. “I didn’t mean you two to come and get it.” I just shook my head, but to be fair, my dogs are still working on understanding English.
The hungry dachshunds—are they never not-hungry? —scurried around my feet, praying I would drop my plate on the way to the table. They refused to join paws with me to give thanks for the bountiful food and the safe trip to the dining room. Just as I asked the Lord to bless the precious, anointed, most talented hands that prepared this food, Mrs. Aggie yelled from the back of the house.
“Jimmy!” It was a call of distress.
I instinctively jumped into my knight-in-shining-armor suit and charged to the back of the house to slay the dragon that threatened my beloved.
“Baby,” I said, holding my hand over my heart, trying to catch my breath. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she looked up calmly like what’s the big deal. “I just said I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Oh . . . okay.” Relieved, I headed back to the table. “Better hurry. I might eat it all.”
The whole my-fair-lady-rescue episode lasted less than twenty seconds. I returned to the dining room only to find the real dragon, Skipper, standing in my chair, front paws on the table, gobbling my breakfast as if he were coming off a nine-week fast.
“You rotten fleabag,” I muttered under my breath. The temptation to turn him into an elongated throw rug grew stronger as I moved in quietly behind him. Daisy mouthed to Skipper, “Hey, I ain’t going down with you,” and took off.
“Skipper!” I yelled, shaking my finger at him. “Bad dog. Bad dog!” I caught him red-pawed.
He spun around and immediately assumed his paws up—don’t shoot stance. Even with his mouth covered with gravy, and sausage caught between his teeth, he repudiated any involvement with consuming my breakfast. “It wasn’t me, Dad. I swear.” He looked me in the eye. “Honest, I’m just as surprised as you are that someone ate your breakfast.”
Daisy sat in the corner, singing—♪Skipper’s going to time-out ♫ Skipper’s going to time-out♫
Skipper’s denial of the truth reminded me of ancient Judah when she wandered from God. Despite his repeated pleads for Judah’s repentance or face impending disaster, the nation took for granted God’s abundant blessings and favor. Jeremiah described them as such: “This is a nation whose people will not obey the Lord their God and who refuse to be taught. Truth has vanished from among them; it is no longer heard on their lips.” (Jeremiah 7:28)
People wonder how Judah could be destroyed so easily, especially after witnessing Israel fall into captivity. Both nations shared a common sin that brought about their demise.
The apostle Paul saw the same ungodly conditions during his lifetime. In his letter to his buddies in Rome, he plainly stated: these people exchange the truth of God for a lie. (Romans 1:25) The philosophy of relativism, which God calls a spirit of delusion, was prominent in Rome and most of the ancient world.
Today, this spirit has craftily disguised itself as individual freedoms to express yourself.
Living in the world of relativism requires one to ignore God’s principles so that the truth will be whatever one wants it to be.
Reality? Meh! There is no right or wrong, just whatever you want it to be.
Left is now right, up is now down.
Absolutes? Oh, that’s so 1950s. Truth is whatever you want it to be.
Feelings reign over all decisions. This is nothing more than a delusional spirit that the very-real devil sends out to deceive folks.
Those who oppose relativism are labels as bigots, intolerant, judgmental—whatever. What society calls truth, I call insanity. Can someone explain how one is “gender-fluid?”
- A man says he is a woman, because he says so
- A person insists they are a different race, because they say so
- For the atheists, there is no God, because they say so, and we’ll sue you bigoted Evangelicals for shoving your values down our throats!
- For the religious, all religions lead to God, because they say so.
- Me? Need Jesus? Why? I’m a good, moral person.
The list is endless. These lies may deceive people for a while, but they are still lies. Truth is not truth just because the majority repeatedly insist it is true.
People argue, “Jesus, you should have come in today’s era, not some backward time in Middle Eastern history.” But the world’s condition that Jesus entered then is the same as today.
Here are timeless truths, according to God’s word.
- Jesus came to save sinners. (1 Timothy 1:15)
- Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world. (John 3:17)
- Jesus came to offer his life for the sins of mankind. (Matthew 26:28)
- Jesus said you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)
- Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to God the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
And to demonstrate to the world that Jesus is the Truth, God resurrected Jesus from the grave on Easter Sunday.
That’s the truth . . . even for the gender-fluid.
Lord, as we walk hand-in-hand with you on our journey of faith, you lead us into all truth, lighting our paths with your grace.
Stay close to Jesus
Jimmy
P.S. Despite his denials, I believe Skipper hid my underwear in the sofa when Mrs. Aggie hosted the ladies Bible study in our home.
Jimmy Eskew © 2017
THANKFUL 
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