Page 169 - TruthAboutLyingFinal

Nicholas Boothman
“So what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Let the government take over. Let them figure it out. Maybe they’ll do better than I did.”
“Or maybe they’ll do worse.”
“Then that’s on them.”
Vincent pulled something out of his pocket. His wooden cross. He’d been carrying it, Henry realized. Just not wearing it.
“In Exodus,” Vincent said quietly, “there is a story about Moses sending spies into Canaan. Twelve spies. They come back with reports about the land. Ten of them say it is too dangerous. Too many giants. Too many fortified cities. They cannot conquer it.”
“And the other two?”
“Joshua and Caleb. They say the land is good. That they can conquer it. That God will help them.”
“What happened?”
“The people believed the ten spies. They refused to enter the land. So God made them wander in the desert for forty years. An entire generation died before their children could enter.”
Henry looked at him. “What’s your point?”
“My point is that sometimes the truth is too hard to bear. Sometimes people need to believe the lie, that the land is too dangerous, that the giants are too big, because the alternative is too frightening. And sometimes God lets them believe the lie. Because the truth would destroy them.”
“So you’re saying I should have lied?” 169