"I cannot tell a lie"

Americans are familiar with the story of George Washington as a child, “Father, I cannot tell a lie.” We nicknamed our sixteenth president “Honest Abe.” From the founding of our country, honesty and integrity are valued and even expected. True, America may not exactly be considered godly, but some morality, apart from godliness, still is woven into our very fiber. Not so here. The culture here is to be dishonest. Lying, stealing, cheating, bribing may be against the law – after all, Peru is in the twenty-first century. However, it is the norm, and there is no punishment for doing it. Policemen are absolutely corrupt, taking bribes right and left. Why earn when you can steal? Let’s make life a little easier and just cheat on this test. For a believer, to leave off these characteristics is more than just to have victory over a sin – it is to break with their lifestyle, worldview, culture.