Jack’s Winning Words 3/11/15
“I didn’t fib!  I made a fable, like Aesop and those other guys.”  (Dennis the Menace)  Brian Williams didn’t fib; he just enhanced the story…like most of us have done at one time or other.  His problem was his high-profile job which would have us believe that what we see and hear on TV is true.  Most of us have been taught that to tell the truth is right, and to lie is wrong.  Truth- telling, as with keeping the 10 Commandments…the goal is to really try, really try!    ;-)  Jack

FROM TRIHARDER:  Funny! Reminds me of me.====JACK:  G-d must have had a reason for coming up with the Decalogue.

FROM FACEBOOK LIZ:  brian williams is a shameless liar, has no right to keep his job. hillary clinton should be tried for treason. there are fibbers, & then there are criminals.====JACK:  So, there are gradations of sin...venial and mortal?====LIZ: of course there are gradations. mortal? that's god's call.====JACK:  The apostle Paul saw himself as the "chief of sinners," and, yet, we call him a "saint."  Which is he?  Judgment is a tricky subject.====LIZ:  the ten commandments might be a good start for clarification.  so what did st paul do? stick some extra matzoh in his robe pockets at the last supper?====JACK:  As with most of communication, words have to be explained.  For example, the commandment, "You shall not bear false witness," is explained  by Martin Luther in this way, "We are to fear and love God so that we do not betray, slander, or lie about our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain his actions in the kindest way."  The commandments have both a negative and a positive side.  BTW, Paul never met Jesus.  He came afterward.

 FROM IKE AT THE MIC:  Sorry, but you can not identify his lying as "his problem", it is our problem when we help pay to keep a liar as a NEWS reporter on TV.  Fortunately there are many honest reporters that can take his place.====JACK:  Is there anyone who is truly honest?  Is there anyone who truly obeys the Commandments? 

FROM MICHIZONA RAY:  Dishonesty, whether by embellishment or fabrication, is still dishonesty. Dennis the Menace was a child whose insecurities fostered his rationale for creating a fable, lie, or embellishment for the sake of his own sense that he needed protection from that which was true. Brian Williams apparently did the same, and it is my guess that for similar reasons of insecurity, people lie. We are better to ask why being-honest is insufficient or what there is to fear by such a thing as honesty (which leads to the Truth). The Truth shall set you free from your own disillusionments about the need for others to like you, agree with you, be impressed by you, or any of the other "lies" one might believe!====JACK:  Life's goal is perfection.  There are certain measuring devices as to whether or not the goal is attained.  A "lie" is one of them.  In the end, when everything is added up...that's where grace comes into the picture.  BTW, Dennis the Menace first appeared as a comic strip on March 12, 1961.  I mistakenly sent this WW a day early.====RAY:  People seem pretty hard on Brian Williams, as if he has let them down. I suppose since I haven't placed him up on any pedestal, there is nowhere for him to fall. Nonetheless, his "sin" of exaggeration does point out his concern that his actual experience(s) weren't enough -- at least not enough for himself. It is this apparent way-of-thinking that prompted my comments. Why does one believe that who one is, what one is, what one experiences, etc., is not enough? Why do we think that what others think of us is so important that we'll lie to them in order to meet their (assumed) standard? Isn't my "faith sufficient"? Then, isn't it also true that in the same way, I must be sufficient as well? If that holds any water, wouldn't it also be the same for Dennis the Menace and Brian Williams...who need not lie either?  ....and all of this exists while we remain "imperfect"!====JACK:  I tried to make the point we are all imperfect, and that life is a striving to be better.  However, in the end, we are all in the need of grace.

FROM TARMART REV:  It stares me in the face at times, even though I have regretfully been guilty of it myself..."Beware, your sins will surely find you out!" It is a great note for proper accountability to God and oneself. 0:-/====JACK:  It's like the old story...When you point a finger at sinner, you have 3 pointing back at yourself.

FROM SBP IN FLORIDA:  "The road not taken/or taken" has brought Brian Williams as well as the network to this juncture in the road of TV news enhancement. As I see it, the network's credibility is at stake. They have some critical actions to decide upon.
For me, lies are like flies. All over the place. Each of us is a breeding ground for them. This subject would be a fun "verbal" badminton game. Each swat of the shuttlecock asking the question, "Is .....a lie?" Like, is wearing make-up a lie?"  I thank God for His gift of forgiveness!  Another day of fun and contemplation.====JACK:  My point (whether seen or unseen) is that it's hard to be critical of others, because we have all fallen short of the ideal.  The Greek word for sin is,  ἁμαρτία, which means "not hitting the target."  It's so easy to be critical of others who miss the target, not sensing that we have missed it as well.  I liked the old TV show:  People Are Funny.

FROM CHESTER THE GOOD:  Brian Williams is living in a fantasy world and needs help. Until he gets touch with reality, I don't need his version of the news.====JACK:  I like my clicker.

FROM SJ IN MINNESOTA:  I heard a similar quote today: "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." -Winston Churchill====JACK:  Churchill had a way with words.  For example..."Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip."