p. 287 | The Exact Truth

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Sep 13, 1877

The Exact Truth.

Two young masons were building a brick wall—the front wall of a high house. One of them, in placing a brick, discovered that it was a little thicker on one side than on the other.

His companion advised him to throw it out. “It will make your wall untrue, Ben,” said he.

“Pooh!” answered Ben, “what difference will such a trifle as that make? You’re too particular.”

“My mother,” replied his companion, “taught me that ‘truth is truth,’ and ever so little an untruth is a lie, and a lie is no trifle.”

“Oh,” said Ben, “that’s all very well; but I am not lying, and have no intention of doing so.”

“Very true; but you make your wall tell a lie; and I have somewhere read that a lie in one’s work, like a lie in his character, will show itself sooner or later, and bring harm, if not ruin.”

“I’ll risk it in that case,” answered Ben, and he worked away, laying more bricks, and carrying the wall up higher, till the close of the day, when they quit work and went home.

The next morning they went to resume their work, when behold, the lie had wrought out the result of all lies! The wall, getting a little slant from the untrue brick, had become more untrue as it got higher, and at last in the night had toppled over, obliging the masons to do all their work over again.

Just so with ever so little an untruth in your character—it grows more and more untrue if you permit it to remain, till it brings sorrow and ruin.