Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You

by John Ortberg

Ariely goes on to write about how a single act of dishonesty is not a petty act, because it ends up shaping how we view ourselves. We are souls. Everything is connected. That singular deceit determines how far we will allow our standards to slip and still regard ourselves as basically good people. Every act of wrongdoing (sin) leads to the greater likelihood of another act. Start as small as you want. Stand in the express lane in the grocery store with too many groceries in your cart — seventeen grocery items in the twelve-or-less aisle. Try to board a plane when it’s not yet your group’s turn. “I’m not dishonest. I’m in a hurry. I’m too important to wait my turn.” Something as small as a pair of fake sunglasses will still register on the scale of your soul. Once you rationalize that first sin, it makes it more likely that you will say, “It was the traffic,” when it wasn’t the traffic. It makes it more likely that you will say, “I’m sure I sent that email,” when you know you did not send that email. If you say it often enough, you will come to remember and believe you sent that email.