Good morning son,
In my father's church the men's chorus
used to love to sing these words:
“I woke up this morning with my mind,
Stayed on Jesus . . . “
This morning that is how I woke up.
Although it felt good, it also was a little disturbing. Why?
Because what I was being told about me was not all that comforting.
See sometimes I wish that He would just kinda let me deal with me. I
wish He could just “sugar coat” the bitter pill. Maybe even not
tell me the truth . . . NO I don't mean lie to me . . . but simply,
maybe just stay quiet when it might hurt a little.
Proverbs 26:24-26
“A malicious man disguises himself
with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit. Though his speech
is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his
heart. His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness
will be exposed in the assembly.”
Proverbs 26:28
“A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.”
I really hope that you read all of
Proverbs 26 today, and that you wrote down what leaped off the pages
to you. A lot of wisdom there. But for all the wisdom there these
two passages leaped out at me.
Both passages deal with speech.
In verses 24-26 the malicious man, “.
. . . disguises himself with his lips,” “his speech is charming.
. .” he/she utilizes every means of “deception” to conceal his
malice.
In verse 26 we see that their
wickedness will later be exposed in public. Whooptie Do! But in the
meantime I have to suffer from the trap they have set for me! I
guess that is why the other verse leaped out to me.
Proverbs 26:28
“A lying tongue hates those it hurts,
and a flattering mouth works ruin.”
Both of the wrongs being done here in
this verse lying and flattering are mirrored from the previous
passage in disguised speech or deceit and charming speech. In looking
at this passage with the other, we may find a way to keep from the
trap of the malicious man.
If you said a lie to momma P as a child
you were likely to hear this verse. I often thought just how harsh a
statement it was. See I was only telling a “little white lie.”
Note all the adjectives which try to make it sound innocent –
little (not big and earth shattering) and white (not a black lie,
which in our minds would be absolutely terrible and devastating).
But make no mistake here, lying is
wrong and we see that the result of a lie is hurt, pain, and
distress. With a lie we can shame someone, create guilt where none
should be, mislead others to their own or others detriment. With a
lie we can kill a person's reputation, spirit, well being. With a lie
we can leave someone to believe something is okay with us when it is
not. A lie hurts. It is a purposeful deceitful communication.
Looking back at the malicious man/woman
in verse 24 above it is obvious that he/she will be utilizing lying
in their arsenal of disguised speech. I won't speak of the obvious
lies, but perhaps we need to take a look at more subtle lying – the
very cunning. All lies for the moment make us feel pretty good
about ourselves. This is what makes a lie so easy for us to believe.
It may be a lie from one about a third party which will cause us to
not trust the third party. Why would we accept such a lie? Because
again, perhaps the third party is telling you the truth about
something that you do not want to hear. It is always easier to
dismiss them and accept a lie about them (the third party) then to
deal with what they may be saying. We may forget all the good that
has come about because of the third party.
Sounds a little complicated, heh? Yes
and no. It has been said that “sin takes many forms but a lie is
the handle that fits all of them.”
Want to uncover a malicious man –
look for the truth on a matter. Listen for lies. See if the
evidence bears witness to what is being said.
And what about the “flattering mouth”
which works ruin? Does this not sound like the charming speech of
the deceitful man/woman in verse 25? We always like to be around
those who flatter us. But is that wise? Should we? Webster defines
flatter as “To praise unduly or insincerely; to play upon the hopes
or vanity of another.” It's definition helps me understand why it
would lead to our ruin – its insincere or can we say it moves past
the truth, is not based on what really is, it is by its nature
another form of lying. If that is what flattering is, you can keep
it!
I understand that we participate with
God in what He tells us to do, and when we do what He says, there is
success. However, when someone, myself included, begins to
consistently point out MY contribution in it, lifting it up, I begin
to get rather nervous. When someone can see nothing but good in what
I have done in a relationship. When they describe every word coming
out of my mouth as being just so “precious” I immediately stand
up take notice. That is flattering. It is contrary to my best
interest to listen to it and receive it. I put that person and
relationship in check. Ignoring this will becomes my ruin.
I can trust that God will always tell
me the truth on a matter, whether I like it or not. He does not
disguise it, and His desire is to see me succeed, to see me grow and
prosper, His desire is for me to experience His love which always
puts what would be in my best interest upfront. His heart is for me,
and therefore his speech is plain and direct.
Both passages speak of the condition of
the heart of the individual deceiving and lying to you. One speaks
of the person as acting out of a malicious heart - “. . . . in his
heart he harbors deceit,” “seven abominations fill his heart.”
Malice is defined as a willful, purposeful disposition or desire to
injure another. Contrast that to God who acts not out of a heart of
malice but out of a heart of what is best for us; a heart full of
goodness, kindness and caring for you and I. In the other passage we
see that the person who is lying to us is acting out of a heart of
hate. Their hate verses God's love. I think I know which one I wish
to listen to. Do you?
“I woke up this morning with my mind,
Stayed on Jesus . . .”
Remember that song? And then He spoke
truth to me. See God's word is always true. So what should we do
with what we are being told – examine what another is saying to us
to God's word. Is what they are encouraging us to do right according
to God's word? The scripture says “you shall know the tree by the
fruit it bears.” They may be speaking like they know life, but is
that what you see flowing from their life? In your dealings with
them have you found them to be true? Do you find yourself being
drawn closer to God in their presence than away from Him? Do you
pray more around them? Do you want to study God's word more around
them? Do they encourage you to tell the truth, and to do the right
thing according to His word?
I could go on and on with the
questions, but you could most likely do as good if not better a job
of it than I. So do it. Examine what you are being told. Take a
close look at who you let get close to you. It is not your enemies
that you need to worry the most about hurting you or leading you into
danger – them you keep away, and consider everything they say
suspect – it is your friends. “Trust in the Lord with all your
heart and lean not upon your own understanding.” (look it up)
Got it?
Love yah,
dad
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