Getting Yourself In A Pickle

I was watching my favorite show, The Andy Griffith Show, and it was one of my favorite episodes. It is the episode about Aunt Bee's pickles. The plot deals with the kerosene-tasting pickles that Aunt Bee makes. The problem begins when Andy and Barney try not hurt her feelings by telling her how bad her pickles really are. So they replace them with store-bought ones enjoying each bite of the replacement pickles. Trouble arrives when Aunt Bee concludes that the boys love those pickles so she not only makes another batch, but enters the new batch in the local fair. Thus the dilemma begins. They can't let Aunt Bee submit store bought pickles, but that means they have to eat all of the pickles before the fair. What a pickle!

I have often struggled with this. Do you act like some people that just lay it out on the line how they feel and let the chips fall where they may? Or do you "protect them" by not being totally honest?

I don't know. I do know that it is wrong to lie. I do know that you are to treat people with love. Sometimes that seems to create a tension that is hard to discern. Maybe that is where prayer comes in. I do know that when I have prayed, things have always worked out better. So, instead of getting yourself in a pickle, pray. When we do, God will be proud!

Sid