One of our dogs is a tattletale. She is small, cute, and has a very loud excitable bark when something sets her off. And nothing sets her off like when our Golden Retriever does something he should not. If he sticks his nose in the trash, she gets about six inches from his face and starts barking as loud as she can. If he puts one paw on the couch, same thing. If he does anything he is not supposed to do, then she lets him, us, and everyone in earshot know about it.

You have known people like that. They want to be sure everyone knows about every mistake you have ever made. It is as if their greatest joy in life is to see someone get in trouble. Tattletales want to get people in trouble, see people “get what is coming to them,” and make sure everyone knows about it. You see them among children on the playground, and among employees in the workplace.

There is even a tattletale who wants to be sure God gives you what you deserve for all the wrong choices in your life. A prophet named Zechariah tells about it in the book he wrote in the Bible. He describes how Satan is standing before God to accuse one of the priests of God. But before he can tell on him, God cuts him off. God tells Satan that he has snatched this man out of the fire. God reminds this priest that he has taken away his sins. He has his dirty clothes removed and is then dressed in clean clothes.

That is not just a story about a priest. It is a story about me, too. I should be thrown into the fires of hell. Satan will be at the judgment day to be sure and tell God everything I did wrong. He will want me to get what is coming to me. And God will stop him. God has taken away my sin because of Jesus. He has snatched me out of the fire. Satan the tattletale cannot tell God anything he does not already know about my life. But because of Jesus, I do not get what I deserve. I get mercy.

Nobody likes a tattletale. And that especially includes God.
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