Teasing Brothers

Do you have brothers that like to tease? My two big brothers used to delight in inventing tall tales to trick their sisters. When I was kindergarten age, Cody convinced me that we had ferocious pythons chasing our vehicle, trying to puncture our tires with their fangs. Another time, when our parents went to the store to buy a special treat, Cody convinced me they would bring back slug ice cream. My parents returned to find me in tears. I wouldn’t eat any ice cream until my dad persuaded me that it was strawberry flavor—with no slugs at all! Cody laughed and laughed at my gullibility.

I learned to be wary of Cody’s stories, but Hud’s sarcastic remarks fooled me even in my teens. He especially liked to give bogus answers to “stupid” questions—whose answers I probably could have figured out myself. He’d keep a straight face and make his line so plausible that I often wouldn’t catch the untruth.

Today, my brothers speak honest, serious words that I value. Still, their lighthearted lies of the past taught me that human words often can’t be trusted.

Because we’ve been tricked and teased so often, we sometimes approach God’s Word with the same kind of caution I learned for my brothers’ tales. But God’s Word is different. It is always true. It is always powerful. We can always count on it! When God says something will happen, we can consider it done. By faith, we can claim every promise!

He’s trustworthy! Will you choose to believe Him?