"The Softest Pillow is a Clear Conscience"

I attend a men's small group on Wednesday mornings that has been reading a book by Bill George titled, "True North." It is a book that helps leaders discover who they are and then motivates them to leverage their strengths for their cause. Of the many great lessons in the book, the one that stands out most poignantly to me came from the founder and former CEO of Infosys, Narayana Murthy.

Founding the company in India, the Infosys team was pressed to take shortcuts because of widespread corruption. But their dream was to "demonstrate that you could run a business in India without corruption and create wealth, legally and ethically." So they did it the right way and achieved their dreams.

In explaining what drove them to play by the rules, Murthy said, "We always believed that the softest pillow was a clear conscience." That's great a lesson to learn and an even greater one to live by.

I couldn't help but think of Murthy's observation as I read the account of Jacob's sleeplessness in Genesis 32.

A little background...
Jacob and Esau were twins born to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau, the oldest, was a powerful man of the outdoors, a master grill-smith, and the favorite of his father who just happened to love barbecue. Jacob, on the other hand, was more of a momma's boy.

As the oldest, Esau was in line for most of the family's estate as well as his father's blessing. Through a series of events that Jerry Springer wouldn't believe, Jacob ended up with Esau's birthright and his father's blessing. To save his hide, Jacob skipped town and was gone for 20 years.

In Genesis 32, we find Jacob and his guilt-stained conscience coming home to face the music. Needless to say, the night before the confrontation with Esau was a sleepless one. He actually spent the entire night wrestling with God in an effort to secure God's blessing and divine protection from his brother.

The remarkable part of the story is that as Jacob faced death, he got his priorities straight. He made a commitment to God and essentially offered his entire estate to Esau in hopes that he would be forgiven and allowed to live.

The irony is that what Jacob offered in exchange for his life was what he had stolen from his brother years before. All the things that he wanted so desperately, he now despised. He would obviously do anything in his power for an opportunity to start over. He learned what Murthy knew all along, it is better to have a clear conscience and good sleep than to take short cuts to achieve your goals.

Proverbs 3:21-24
21 My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; 22 they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. 23 Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; 24 when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

How soft is your pillow? How sweet is your sleep?

I Went to Bed with a Call & Woke up with a Job

Have you ever had one of those God moments in your journey where you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you heard from God? Maybe it was ...

• the moment you knew God was calling you into a personal relationship with him
• the day you realized you were supposed to leave one career for another
• the burden to engage a nonbeliever you know for the purpose of connecting them to Christ
• the time God asked you to step up and serve Him in a new and challenging ministry through your church

For most people, the day of that call ends with the peace of knowing that they heard from God, as well as an excitement about the prospects of cooperating with God on a world changing project!

On that day, you go to bed with a call and then at some point you wake up with a job!

This is exactly what happened to Laban, Bethuel and Milcah--remember Milcah? Their story is found in Genesis 24. Abraham is about to die and he is concerned that they have not gotten a wife for Isaac. So in a strange ceremony that must have made everyone a bit uncomfortable, Abraham calls in his oldest and most trusted servant Eliezer and tells him to place his hand under his thigh and promise to get Isaac a wife from his family back in Mesopotamia. (When you don' t have a stack of Bibles to swear on, what are you supposed to do?)

Eliezer reluctantly places his hand under his thigh, makes the promise and heads out to the city of Nahor. When he arrives he has an amazing encounter with a woman at the well who turns out to be Rebekah, the granddaughter of Abraham's brother. He goes to their home and relates the most improbable story of how God answered his prayers through this encounter and then asks that Rebekah return to Canaan with him to be Isaac's wife.

Laban, the big brother, and Bethuel, the dad are shocked at what has happened! Clearly God had orchestrated the events of the day and they were being called into something that was so much bigger than they were. Their response was, "The matter comes from the Lord; so we cannot speak to you bad or good. Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has spoken." (Genesis 24:49-50).

They were all so thrilled that God was calling them to the playing field that they had a feast, eating and drinking into the night, celebrating what God was doing with their families. AND THEN MORNING CAME AND WITH IT A WAKE UP CALL ...

When Eliezer asked for permission to take Rebekah and leave for home, Laban and Milcah spit the bit. They realized that the work of obedience was about to begin and it would come at a great and painful sacrifice. When they woke up, they understood that what God was calling them to was was separation from their beloved Rebekah. It would mean a new and different way of life. It would mean letting Rebekah go forever! It turned out to be a sacrifice that they didn't really care to make.

Laban and Milcah initially tried to delay the departure. "Let the girl stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go." (Genesis 24:55).

Eliezer, knowing that delayed obedience was disobedience, rejected the notion. He wanted to get moving while God was moving so he pleaded for permission to leave immediately.

Laban and Milcah had one last card up their sleeves, they asked that Rebekah be given an opportunity to speak for herself. They figured that Rebekah woke up feeling the same way they were, so they suggested that she be brought in and consulted. Rebekah's response, "I will go." (Genesis 50:58).

For Rebekah it was a simple issue of obedience to God's call. She was called into something so much bigger than she was, she wasn't going to let the sacrifice demanded derail her divine moment.

Laban and Milcah went to bed with a call, woke up with a job, and hoped for a recall. Rebekah went to bed with a call, woke up with a job, and followed through embracing the sacrifice demanded.

Have you ever gone to bed with a call and woke up with a job? What happened next?

Trust God - Tell the Truth!

What causes us to shade the truth? We don't tell the truth when we believe little white lies, or harmless exaggerations offer protection from the buzzards of pain, rejection, rebuke, or the threat of insignificance. When those buzzards are circling our circumstance, we are compelled to hide the truth.

Then when we get caught, the excuse always boils down to a lack of trust in our circumstances, our environment, or the people involved.

Abraham, the father of our faith, twice found himself in a situation where he felt vulnerable because of the beauty of his wife Sarah and both times he felt the need to lie about their relationship.

Remember the first time he went to Egypt? He decided that since she was so good looking, the Egyptians would kill him so that Pharaoh could have her-talk about circling buzzards. So he lied to protect himself. Again in Genesis 20 it is the same song different verse. Abraham moved to Gerar to live in the kingdom of Abimelech. One more time he told Sarah to say that she was his sister instead of his wife. When God told Abimelech not to touch her or he was as good as dead, the King sent for Abraham and asked him, "What are you doing dude? Are you trying to get me killed? What did I ever do to you?"

Abraham's answer is telling, "I said to myself, 'Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.'" (Genesis 20:11). In essence, what Abraham said was that he didn't trust Abimelech's walk with God, so he lied about Sarah to protect himself. And while that must have certainly felt true, Abimelech's walk wasn't the problem!

The issue was Abraham's walk! If Abraham had fully trusted God, then he would have been able to speak the truth and trust that the God would cover him.

The reality is that when we hide, shade, or exaggerate the truth; we aren't protecting our weaknesses, we are exposing them. Lying actually demonstrates that we don't trust God and that our wellbeing is completely dependent upon our ability to control our circumstances and our acquaintances.

The next time your vulnerability compels you to manipulate the truth, remember that the God of truth is our refuge...

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower;the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10)