Before we continue on our examination of the 5 things that we allow to hinder our own happiness I wanted to share (in this sermon) an idea that came to me this past week as I pondered the idea of how important honesty is. Most texts, of those that believe in goodness, teach about respecting our elders and often mention respecting the people who govern us. In my life I have always found it difficult to maintain that respect when an elder or a person in governance was found to have lied.
This sermon is about lying. We know that happiness brings peace. Our church is also founded on honesty. The two are inseparable in a solid life path. Honesty is so important to happiness it deserves a special call out on this Sunday where many in the world (especially Western Christians) celebrate Easter.
When I was a very young boy I saw posters and advertisements for a film called “The Neverending Story.” It was a movie about a boy who was fascinated with books and apparently engaged in the fiction with the help of a strange and giant dog. When I think about it today, I wonder why I was never interested in watching the movie. It turns out that in my small mind the title was warning me off. I felt that if the story was truly never ending, I would not be satisfied when the duration of the film ran out. I have never been happy with stories without real endings. I definitely do not like stories or films where the author or director takes it upon themselves to pretend that it is up to us to make sense of or decide the eventual ending.
As a child I felt as if these types of open ended journeys were a lie in how they stopped. Much worse is the obvious consideration that an author or director was lying about — leaving the impressions to us for the simple reason that they failed to bring the piece to a close, and were at a much of a loss as their fans. Thus paint it as mystery. A challenge for your perceptions. Another Jackson Pollack falsehood.
As a teenager I encountered a group of kids on a train. They were my own age. I knew I would likely not see any of them while overseas during a stay in Germany as an exchange student. When they asked me about where I grew up and about my background I immediately began to embellish my humble beginnings and launch upon a fabricated story that made me almost appear quite famous. I regretted this deeply even after many years. The one thing that I learned from this was based upon a phrase that I told myself. In reflecting on that event I said, “when you tell a lie you start your own neverending story.” It never ends.
This small yet horrible neverending story follows you throughout your life. The reason is you may encounter someone again, and you would have to be ready to get your story straight. In that event alone you continue an even larger and more damaging neverending story. There can be no happiness in carrying this weight. Avoid dishonesty and avoid a drain on your ordinary happiness.
I wonder what happened to that boy in that story.
Next week we shall return the top 5 detractors of happiness.