Is a pump fake a sin?

I often wonder about the definition of deception.  It implies lying, putting on a face, making others think something else, creating diversions.  There's a lot of messiness that comes out of deception.  There's the saying that covering up a lie just creates more and more lies, like a spider's web.  Mark Twain said, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."  If I'm being completely honest, which is something I need to work on, I need to tell you that sometimes I get some satisfaction out of being a trickster.  Please allow me to explain.

Basketball is my favorite sport.  I've played since I was in 2nd grade, been on organized teams, went to a few basketball camps, watched it on TV a ton, and I still play at the courts nearby where I stay.  I'm 6 ft tall on a good day, weigh 150 lbs on a good day, have a decent shot, can't jump or play good defense.  I grew up waiting for my growth spurt.  Always one of the shortest on the court, I got pretty good at dribbling and really comfortable at the point guard position.  Court vision and passing became key elements to my game since I'd probably never get a rebound or be anywhere near the basket.  In middle school, I use to telegraph my passes (look at who I was passing to) and thus get the ball stolen sometimes.  Getting into high school, into college, and now on the streets, my favorite play has become the no look pass.  Pretty soon, throwing off an opponent became my favorite thing to do.  When you are able to pass to someone that no one else is paying attention to, you get the feeling that you can see the invisible.  Even when you pass the ball, defenders don't know where it's going.  I've often wondered, is it wrong to try my hardest to deceive people with this?  I don't have a clear answer either way.

There are games that involve lying.  Games like Boulderdash and Malarky imply deceitfulness just in their board game titles.  Mafia is a game in which there is a designated "killer" who tries to win the game by convincing everyone that he is just an innocent "townsperson" like everyone else.  People get voted out of the game based on who people believe the mafia is.  This is a game where my competitiveness and deception can come out in very negative ways for me.  Cheating at games in order to have an advantage in them is not something I do and I get quite annoyed when others try to do it.  However, I must admit, that I have cheated in games just to see if I could get away with it.  It's like an entirely different game for me.  When the Packers scored a touchdown off of a fake field goal attempt, that rare trickery got me excited.  When Ms. Deirdree (on staff with 2nd Mile) got me out of jail (in a game of capture the flag) when the whole game she just stood still guarding our flag, that unexpected move was so awesome and memorable for me.  When a magician completely fools me, that form of deception entertains.

I guess in my recent thoughts about deception, I've been kind of curious--are these seemingly harmless forms of deception healthy?  My answer is, I have no idea.  I do know that lying and deception are sins, but is it only to the degree that it hurts someone else?  The past few weeks, I've been reading through Genesis about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This past week I've been learning about how traits and values (both good and bad) are passed down through families.  Family life and how you are raised probably play the biggest part in the way you think and live.  Chapter 12 shows how Abraham (then Abram) lied and said that Sarah (then Sarai) was his sister and not his wife in order to protect his life.  The next generation, Isaac (in Chapter 26) does the same thing and says that Rebekah is his sister so that he isn't killed for having a beautiful wife.  This lying trait was passed down.  The next generation with Jacob gets even more messy.  Jacob disguises himself as his brother Esau and Isaac (with fading eyesight) gives Jacob the blessing instead (Chapter 27).

Anyway, I don't think I have a wrap-up/conclusion to this blog.  I know that I like no look passes, seeing what is unseen, and occasionally mind games.  I leave you with this list of questions, straight from a book I've been reading called The Emotionally Healthy Church.  These questions were written with the intention of helping Christ-followers understand the way they operate and how leaving negative ways of thinking unchecked, left under the surface, can lead to some devastating things generations from now.  I think these questions would be good for anyone to go through.  Sometimes looking back on past events from the family we grow up in can be difficult and painful and weird, but these questions are just to bring to the surface some of the ways we might negatively impact the present with our past.

"1. Describe each family member with three adjectives and their relationship.

2. Describe your parents' relationship.

3. How was conflict handled in your family? Anger?  Tension?

4. How were gender roles and authority worked out in your family?

5. How well did you family do in talking about feelings?

6. How would your family describe you? How do you think you family things about you?

7. How was sexuality talked or not talked about? What were the implied messages?

8. Were there any family "secrets" (such as pregnancy out of wedlock, incest, or major financial scandal)?

9. What was considered "success" in your family?

10. How was money handled? Spirituality? Holidays? Relationship with extended family?

11. How did your family's ethnicity shape you?

12. Were there any heroes or heroines in the family? Scapegoats? "Losers"? Why?

13. What kinds of addictions, if any, existed in the family?

14. Were there traumatic losses in the past or present, such as sudden death, prolonged illnesses, stillbirths/miscarriages, bankruptcy, or divorce?

15. How was spirituality expressed?"

This was difficult for me to do but it really helped bring to light many things that I had been lying to myself about myself.  I pray that God would show you how much you are loved through this process if you choose to take the leap of faith that He'll use it.