GASOLINE CAKE

     The Ninth Commandment: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16). If we bear false witness, we will invariably reap as we sow. Dishonesty will infect every facet of living, the ultimate price being the inability to differentiate the true from the false at the most critical junctures of our lives. Many in modern society accept the concept of compartmentalizing, believing they can be ruthless, arrogant, even dishonest in business or career matters but then shift gears and be loving and gentle in the rest of their lives. This false belief is deadly to our spiritual growth. We are all the sum total of OUR ACTIONS, treating anyone for any reason in a manner we would find objectionable if it was visited upon us shuts us off from the sunlight of the Spirit.

      We would never pour gasoline into the cake batter and then be shocked when the finished cake, regardless of how well it is decorated, is unpalatable. By telling tales, even engaging in seemingly innocuous gossip, brands us accordingly, treating anyone poorly for any reason, any justification, demonstrates our true spiritual state. By our fruits, we shall be known or to quote Emerson: “What you are shouts so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”