The charlatan cyclist and other fables.

The story was always too good to be true.  Turns out, it was.  Lance rode roughshod through the cycling world for fourteen years, intimidating men and women alike.  He took no prisoners and had no friends.  He left his wife for a singer, he hung teammates out to dry.  His pharmacist was so rattled, her hands shook while dispensing the drugs he long denied.

You see...nobody is that good.  Not Clemens, not Bonds, not Armstrong, not Bagwell.  But it's not just limited to the sports world.  There's a sprinkling of deceit in all of us.  Write me if you have not glamourized your resume to fit a job.  Let me know if you haven't embellished a date, a vacation, or a trip to Vegas.  Please inform me if you have never misrepresented yourself in any way.  Because you'll be the first that's ever lived.

You bet I'm mad at Lance and his charade.   He parlayed his pumped up talent into a hundred million dollars, by some estimates.  Hundreds of thousands, if not millions who were inspired by his cancer charity, are probably a little dazed by his shenanigans.  The government's not amused, sportswriters who went on the ride are not amused, and most everyone I know now scoffs at his name.

But you know what?  There's a little bit of Lance in all of us.  The Bible tells us that everyone has sinned and falls short of the Lord.  It tells us that the number one quality of our heart is deceitfulness.  The Lord doesn't need a drug test to know if we're not being truthful.  He knows.

But He also knows that some will come to Him.  Some will confess and seek forgiveness and His heart is gigantic and He will forgive anyone who comes and repents.

So, if we're to be like God, which we're told to do, we must also forgive.

Who closest to you has hurt your feelings with lies and deceitfulness?  Forgiveness is mandatory if you're a Christ follower.  The relationship may never be the same, but being like Jesus is a step in the right direction.