The Belt of Truth

genesi 15:4

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.”

Ephesians 6:14

Today we are going to spend a little time talking and thinking about what the belt of truth is. Let’s not stop there though let’s see how we can use it. 

What is the belt of truth?  Is it a fashionable item that you fasten around your waste?  Is it a thin piece of rope that you use to hold your trousers up?  Is it expensive or free?  Does it have rhinestones, diamonds, and big fancy Conchos around it?  Maybe yours does but mine doesn’t.  The truth is simple and fits us perfectly. 

The belt of truth is something that everyone can see and everyone will admire.  As children, we start by always telling the truth.  “Mommy Billy hit me,” or, “Daddy why is your nose so big?”  Sometimes the truth can be pretty scary.  Then we usually go through a stage of not telling the truth.  It’s sad but some people never grow out of that stage.  They tell so many lies that even they forget with the truth really is.  Most of us make the concise decision that the truth is better than lies.  We figure out that we don’t have to embellish our stories.  They are prefect the way they actually happened. 

Telling lies is something that satin LOVES.  It starts with one small one, “I brushed my teeth this morning” when you really didn’t.  After you tell that one small one then it becomes easier to tell bigger ones. “I didn’t take the candy bar from the drawer.”  It continues to compound until you don’t know when you are lying and telling the truth. “I swear that I did not tell you to do that.” when you really did tell them to do what they did.

We take off the belt of truth when it is convenient for us.  When we think we might get into trouble, or when we want someone’s attention.  Every time that we take off the belt we allow satin to win.  Those small wins turn into bigger wins. 

One convenience I can think about is, when we think we might get into trouble, we lie to “avoid” the consequences for our actions.  “I didn’t take eat the chocolate bar.” Even though your face and hands are covered in chocolate.  Have you ever done that?  Guilty.  Now I make the concise decision to always tell the truth even if it might get me in trouble.  I have found that I can live with myself a lot easier if I tell the truth and deal with the consequences. 

Do you know anyone who embellishes the story to get more attention?  I think we all know several people.  What do you think when they tell you their stories?  Is it, “Wow that was amazing?”  More likely it is, “Oh my goodness, another story that I have to pick the truths out of.”  If you feel this way when you talk to someone else why would you do the exact same thing?  Its simple we love attention.  We crave it and we found in the past that others around us respond when our stories are embellished to be more exciting.  The truth is that our stories without the embellishment are exactly what we should be telling. 

You see the belt of truth is something that we have to put on every morning and wear it proudly.  It should become part of who we are.  When others see us they should be able to see our faith through our actions.  Would God lie? 

A few things to think about this week are:

Do you have to wear the armor God gave us all the time, or just when it is convenient for you?

When was the last time you didn’t tell the whole truth?  How did you feel afterwards?  How long did you think about the “Non truth” you just told.

Prayer

God we come to you today with a remorseful heart.  We have not always told the truth in the past and we would like to tell you that we are sorry for that.  We are thankful that you have given us the ability to put on the belt of truth and we would like to wear it every day.  Help us to wear it proudly.  We pray that you help us to teach our children just as you teach us that the truth is always the best answer.  God thank you for giving us your armor to help fight satan. 

Amen

Will you pray with us?

Mankind throughout the world throughout our current situation

All Law enforcement and emergency response personnel

For all military personal serving our country and their families

Those in Leadership positions throughout the world

All those suffering from the effects of COVID-19

Prayer

Lord, today we come to you with HAPPY hearts.  We are so grateful that you give us the opportunity to change the lives of those around us.  We are grateful that you give us the wisdom to change our lives and the lives of those around us.  And you make it so simple. We can do it with a single smile. God today I would ask that you help us to smile more. The next time we see someone down, help us to smile for them. The next time we are down, help us to remember that you gave us the best gift ever. The ability to know you, your son, and the holy spirit. God, we are so grateful for everything you give us.

We ask all these things in your Precious Son's Name

Amen

A Little More

 The other day I got a call from one of our clients.

I love talking to our clients so I always smile when I answer the phone.

“Hey Dan, one of my drivers is pulled over and they are saying that our permit doesn’t cover what we weigh. Isn’t that why we hire your team to make sure that these things don’t happen!”

My smile immediately vanished.

I was shocked because my team is amazing. and it’s not like them to miss something like 20,000 lbs on a permit.

So, I asked him, “Who have you been working with, and who was the one who called our team to get the permit?” 

To get to the bottom of the problem I needed the details.

They gave me the details.

My next call was to my team. Then after I got the details I got them started on getting new permits to get the problem fixed. I’m a solutions guy, not an excuses guy.

But I NEED to know the real reason why it happened so that we can fix the issue.

My next call was to the driver so that I could see exactly what happened.

I knew he was going to be upset. He was pulled over and they were going to give him a HUGE ticket. I wouldn’t be happy either.

so……

I made sure not to smile when I made the call.  I had a serious look on my face. As we chatted I learned that he was the person who gave his weight to our team. I asked where he got the weights from and how in the world they were off by over 20K lbs!

That’s when he told me that he might have gotten the wrong scale ticket from the weigh station where he originally weighed.

Immediately my heart leapt with joy, this is NOT our fault!

Now to get the problem resolved and get this driver back on the road was my only goal.  I was not going to assign blame or make anyone feel bad. 

Hey, we all make mistakes. I do it multiple times every single day.

The owner of the company shot me a text. I'm getting permits from the big guys. They won’t make these mistakes that cost me time and $$$$$.

No problem.  Let me know if you need anything. We are here to help.

Well……..

After they called the “BIG Guys” they called me about 30 minutes later.

Hey, we can’t get an Idaho permit until Monday. It’s Friday night. And we need to drop this load off tomorrow afternoon.

I told him that I would NOT make any promises.

But my team went to work!

Guess what????

We got the permits that the “BIG Guys” couldn’t get.

My team had the Idaho permit in less than 20 minutes. For the right weight this time.

Here’s the point of all this.

When things don’t go right, smile. I have taught my whole team this.

That right there is how we got the permits. They smiled as they worked and it didn’t take any time at all.

Ok, there might be a little knowledge that went into this too. Lol

Next time you need anything DOT, don’t call the “Big Guys” , call the team who can get it done!

Dan Greer