The lips of a king speak as an oracle, and his mouth should not betray justice (Proverbs 16:10).

"Really?"

"Yes, really.  If we got you your very own nostril-sized alligator, I think it would clear up this nose-picking problem in no time."

"Whoa..." The look on my son's face suggested that he had finally accepted the reality of ready-to-order nostril-sized alligators, packaged and marketed to families trying to help their kids overcome unsightly nose-picking habits.

I finally relented with my teasing:  "Actually, I'm just kidding."  I smiled and tousled his hair.  "I wish that there were such a thing -- but there's not."  Fortunately, my son was quick to laugh off the joke, and there was no lasting damage done by the exchange.

Even so, the experience got me to thinking:  I could probably get away with passing off just about anything as truth, when it comes to my children.  And not just because they're young and gullible.  It's because I'm their father.  And when one speaks as a father, one speaks with a voice of authority.  My words automatically hold a higher level of plausibility because of the position that I hold in the lives of my children.  And while there's still a time and a place for joking and teasing, it's also important that a position of authority not be abused too often -- lest permanent damage to the underlying layer of trust might be done.

It's not just with parenting.  Similar dynamics of trust and reliability come into play with church leadership positions, with business leadership positions, with governmental leadership positions.  And in all of these situations, it really is true that "The lips of a king (or a father or mother or small-group leader or pastor or manager or boss or government official) speak as an oracle, and his (or her) mouth should not betray justice."  We need to realize that the roles we play in other people's lives do not always allow us the freedom to speak sarcastically, or to tease, or to deceive (even if it's not intended maliciously).  We need to beware of Nostril-Sized Alligators even more than my son ever did.