November 7

Behold, this only have I found: that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. — Eccl 7:29

Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side; Some great cause, God’s new Messiah offering each the bloom or blight, Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right; And the choice goes by forever ’twixt that darkness and that light.
— James Russell Lowell.

We cannot command veracity at will; the power of seeing and reporting truly is a form of health that has to be delicately guarded, and as an ancient rabbi has solemnly said, “The penalty of untruth is untruth.”
— George Eliot.

Prayer

My Father, help me to speak the truth and guard the truth, that righteousness may be an abiding influence in my life. Amen.