Putting the‘spin’ on a pheasant and the truth
April 4, 2006
As I sit to write this, I would like to begin by stating that my intention is not to attack any person or group or to insinuate anything about any person or group. I just want to tell a true story and its later presentation in the pulpit.
Late last November, during quail and pheasant season, my son and I spotted a beautiful pheasant in the tall grass on my neighbor’s place about a mile north of our house. I turned around and went back to see if I could bag him. I parked some way from him and began to stalk him hoping he wouldn’t fly off toward the highway (thus taking away a shot). To make a long story short, I was able to bag him without much of a fuss. He was beautiful – a perfect one to mount!
Later, after some “uh-hum discussion” with my wife, I was really proud to have a beautiful bird like that sitting in my living room. The taxidermist did work which would have made anyone proud. Everyone who came by the house complimented me on the bird. They all wanted to know where I got him so they might hunt in the same spot and try to get a beauty like this one for themselves. I decided to keep my secret “hunting place” a secret. I would vaguely mention about it being in a field on private property not open to the public.
I decided to take this awesome bird to the church that I pastor and show him off to all the hunters in the church. They gave many compliments about his rare beauty and also many complimented on the great way it was mounted. All wanted to know where I got him and what it cost to mount him.
I replied the same as I had to some others before: “I got him in the tall grass on private property up north of my house. I got lucky, as we found just one piece of lead that I hit him with when I shot and that was in his head. The rest of the feathers were not hurt at all. The mounting didn’t cost me much at all.”
I write this to tell of the sermon I preached titled “This Bird, the Facts and the Truth.” Everything I just said is true. For example: (1) My son and I were driving down the highway; (2) we did spot this bird in the tall grass on private property north of my house; (3) I did turn around, go back, get out and stalk the bird; (4) I did get the bird; (5) I did shoot him in the head (6); I was proud to display him in my living room; (7) the taxidermist did a great job; and (8) everyone was envious of my trophy.
However, according to my deceased grandmother and according to God’s Word, everything I have said, even though factual, is a lie.
You see, I did indeed spot this beautiful bird and I did turn around and I did park and began to stalk him. However, as I moved closer to him with my shotgun to get a shot, I noticed he was not moving. As I got closer, I noticed he was already mounted!
I took the bird home, had a thought about a sermon on “truth versus facts,” got out the BB gun and shot the mounted bird in the head. I had my son observe all this and took the time to have a teaching moment with him.
Grandma used to say, “Half a truth is a whole lie.” My pastor used to say, “If a person tells a 99.9 percent truth and then leave out that other .1 percent for the purpose of deceiving, slandering, attacking, distorting, or changing the perception of a truth, then 100 percent of what you say is a lie and God’s Word says Satan is the father of lies and it also says the liars don’t get to heaven.”
The only “true truth” is always comprised of 100 percent truth and 100 percent facts. If we leave out any part of the truth or any part of the facts, then we are being used of Satan. It is that simple.
Who are you serving today? (Darrell Treat is pastor of Gentry Baptist Church, Gentry.)