To be honest is a mark of maturity. Dishonesty has within it its own destructive seeds. Most of us know the huge amount of energy deceit requires. And many of us have discovered the awful devastation of living a lie.

Our sermon today addresses an issue about which we need to be honest. I’m talking about coping with compassion fatigue - “When being Christian has Worn You Down”.

A mild little boy, not known for being ugly or mean, was being chastised and about to be punished for pulling a little girl’s hair. His mother asked him, “Son, why did you do it, that’s not like you?” “Mommy,” he responded, “I just got tired of being good all the time.”

One of my favorite writers, Erma Bombeck, who teaches good moral philosophy by whimsy, and comes at theology through the back door, wrote about ma…