Roots & Berries; Not seeing the forest for the fib trees

"Aw come on, it's just a little lie ..." But is there really any such thing as a little lie?

I'm not exactly a theologian, but I tried to think of a sin that doesn't start with a lie, and couldn't think of a single one. Stealing, cheating, adultery, lust, envy and even murder all take root and begin branching from nothing larger than the seeds of a first lie.

Whether we lie to someone else to get the result we're after, mock God by thinking he doesn't know our hearts, or mislead ourselves about the consequences of our actions it's all still the same ugly thing: Lying.

If a tree has branches that reach a hundred feet in the air, we're told that same tree has roots that reach a hundred feet underground too. Down there in the dark, where you can't see them. A tree's branches might seem magnificent and imposing from where we're standing, but it's the hidden roots underneath that keep the tree anchored where it stands.

Lies are a lot like trees, too.

Trees scatter their fruit, seeds or berries from their branches and produce more trees identical to themselves. And is there any scientist who can look at a forest, and tell which tree came first?

One little lie works the same way. A single seed falling from one lie inevitably creates more lies. Until not even the person who tells lies can tell which one came first.