April Fool’s Day

Did anyone pull any tricks on you yesterday? It was April Fool’s Day, you know. It is traditional to try and play a prank or a joke on your family and friends. April 1 is the birthday of one of my childhood friends. We used to joke that he was an April fool.

We are not certain about the origins of April Fool’s Day. Some have attributed it to Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Several other options have been put forth as well. The fact is that we simply do not know how the whole thing got started. But it can be a lot of fun, trying to get something over on a friend or family member. Of course, you can take it too far.

We recognize that on April 1 each year we have to be careful with what we hear or see. Someone might be trying to prank us. What they say has to be taken with a grain of salt.

But here’s a question for you. What about the person whose word you can never trust? Is there someone in your life like that? It could be a family member, a coworker, or a neighbor. But you simply cannot trust what they say. It could be true. But it might not be.

The Bible has much to say about that. One of the Ten Commandments deals with lying. Jesus said, “Let your yes be yes.” And the Bible tells us that God is always faithful. In fact, the Bible speaks of God as unchanging and unchangeable. He is always right, therefore He never needs to change.

Yeah, I know men who think the same thing of themselves, but that’s for another column at another time.

The point of all I am saying today is simple. You can trust God. He will not lie to you. He will not even try to trick you on April 1. And then, you need to be trustworthy yourself. Oh, it’s okay if you try and pull a trick on someone one day a year. But you need to be someone whose word is true. You need to tell the truth. As Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”