In every person’s life, there are many events that make a lasting impression. Some may be happy, and some sad. Some can be heart-warming, and some provide an important lesson to learn. I was greatly impacted by an event that happened in my childhood, an event that taught me to be honest as well as thoughtful. It happened during the afternoon at my aunt’s house when I was 12 years old.

Table tennis has always been the most popular sport in my family, and we would often get together to have fun playing ping-pong. That afternoon, my cousin, my brother, and I scheduled some time to play ping-pong at our aunt’s house. We were all having a wonderful time until my brother carelessly stepped on our only ping-pong ball and put a huge dent in it. Looking at the small, stomped ball, we deeply regretted that we hadn’t brought more ping-pong balls with us. We all looked at each other in speechless dismay because none of us knew what to do.

Just when we had decided to give up, I had an epiphany. I had learned in science class that while cold makes things contract, heat makes things expand. Accordingly, we could heat up the ping-pong ball so that it would expand and push out the dent in the ball. I was so excited and immediately told my friends about my idea. When they heard my plan, I could see the sparkle in their eyes, and without saying anything, they all clapped their hands in approval.

Without hesitation, we went into action. We collected the stomped ping-pong ball, a ceramic bowl filled with water, and a lighter. Everything was ready. I was responsible for holding the ping-pong ball while my brother snapped the lighter. We all fixed our eyes on the rapid change in the ping-pong ball. No one spoke, as we were too nervous to even breathe. Suddenly, a red flame flashed out from the ball and we all jumped back in fright. To our dismay, the ping-pong ball had caught on fire! I quickly took it over to the bowl and put out the flame. Dense smoke rose from the burning ping-pong ball which quickly filled the room with the smell of scorched plastic. We were so disappointed because we thought that the plan would work. But it failed miserably.

At this moment, our aunt came back into the house, and smelling a strange odor, she asked us what had happened. We were so afraid of being punished that we told my aunt that it was probably just the smell of burning rubbish outside the windows. As we muddled through our explanation, our aunt noticed that the smell was not coming from outside the house, but inside. She quickly moved toward the trash can and upon opening it, she found the smoldering ping-pong ball and the truth was immediately obvious. She was very unhappy and sad that we had lied to her.

While standing in front of our aunt, we just lowered our heads and didn’t speak. Our aunt looked at us and sighed. Then she told us that it was a very dangerous thing for us to do. She said that if we wanted to make the ping-pong ball recover, we shouldn’t use a flame, but just put it into very hot water. But most importantly, she told us that no matter what happens, we should never lie! We blushed with shame at hearing those words, and we just kept nodding our heads in approval.

This event has placed an impression on me that I remember to this day. Because of this accident, I realized that I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was. Limited knowledge is very dangerous, and someone could get hurt unless we have all of the facts before we act. Furthermore, to always be honest is of utmost importance. I need to learn to take responsibility for my actions and for the influence that I have on others, and above all, always tell the truth.

Additional Comments – One of the important lessons that this student learned was to be sure to gather “all the facts” before making any decision. With Easter just behind us, I was thinking about those who have rejected the resurrection of Jesus as a fabricated event before examining all the evidence available to them. Through the years, many have tried in vain to “disprove” the resurrection, only to discover that the events of that Sunday morning had to be true.

Did the disciples come and steal the body, overpowering the seasoned soldiers who were guarding the tomb? Did Jesus revive Himself in the cold tomb and break out of the grave clothes that were tightly wound around him from head to foot? Did over 500 people all see the same “illusion” of Jesus being alive? And what was it that caused the dramatic change in the disciples after seeing the risen Jesus, to the extent that they were willing to die for what they had witnessed and seen with their own eyes? The truth was obvious — Jesus had risen from the dead, just as He had told His disciples. Many are willing to die for what they “think” is the truth, but not for what they “know” is a lie! If you are a skeptic, maybe it’s time for you to reconsider not only the reality of the resurrection, but also what it means for you to have a living Savior.   

Peggy’s student committed herself to knowing all the facts, or at least most of them, before making any decision. She wanted to be wise in every aspect of life. We all need wisdom in order to make wise choices in life, and God wants us to have wisdom, too. How do we get it? God simply tells us to ask Him for it, and if we do, He will give it to us generously.

And finally, after this event, Peggy’s student decided to always tell the truth. She wanted honesty to be a part of her character. In a court of law, we are required to tell the truth, the whole truth. We are not to bear false witness, nor lie to what we know to be true. If we lie under oath, it’s called perjury, and is a criminal offense. Furthermore, we should never lie to ourselves, thinking that what we have said or done is alright, when in our hearts we know that it was wrong. We can be pretty good at covering things up in our lives, but God sees all that we say and do, and more importantly, He knows all about us. We cannot hide from Him. One day, everything will be exposed and laid bare before Him with whom we must give account. A sobering thought, and something for all of us to consider.