MOMENT: Five-Minute Friday

Do You Tell the Truth?

According to Wikipedia, The Mouth of Truth is a marble mask in Rome, Italy, “which stands against the left wall of the portico of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin church, at the Piazza della Bocca della Verità, the site of the ancient cattle market. According to enduring medieval legend, it will bite off the hand of any liar who places their hand in its mouth, or, alternatively, any who utters a lie while their hand is in the mouth It still attracts many visitors who audaciously insert their hands.” (I’m not certain that is really audacious!)

The mask weighs about 2800 pounds and it is said to depict the face of the sea titan god Oceanus. One aside about the “gods”: They were known for being rather harsh and temperamental.

Apparently “The Mouth of Truth is now known mostly from its appearance in the 1953 film Roman Holiday. The film also uses the Mouth of Truth as a storytelling device since both Hepburn’s and Peck’s characters are not initially truthful with each other.” SOURCE: Wikipedia

So why is this related to “MOMENT?” Something that lasts for a moment is fleeting.

Fleeting Lips

Proverbs 12:19 “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.”

How to Identify a Follower of Jesus

A follower of Jesus is someone who practices love in action. They don’t just talk it, they walk it. To love in truth means to love beyond words. We prove the truth of our words of love by the things we do. In our society, words are easily said at a wedding or at a political campaign stop. Those words may sound like love, but they are just a cover-up for selfish purposes. The result far to often is divorce and corruption for personal gain. The Apostle John had this to say: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

Five Minute Friday

This post is part of the weekly Five-Minute Friday link-up.All scripture passages are from the English Standard Version except as otherwise noted.