Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

Psalms of Honesty and Truth

Lies and lying are probably the hardest offense to take when relating to each other as humans. We get to the point where we feel we can trust no one. When it happens inside the church from leadership to attenders and back to leadership, then it is time to hang it up…or is it? Yesterday, we read “Yahweh’s business is putting things right”, so we can trust in God for Truth. Always. He will eventually allow Truth to rise to the top. So why trust anyone else? I cannot think of a reason why.

As school teachers, Randy and I would generally make this statement, in our tiredness as the school year was coming to an end. It would happen about the first of May. “When the good ones start to go bad, it time for school to end and soon!” I’m sure only my teacher friends will relate to this, but this is close to what David is thinking as he cries out to God. “The last decent person went down, all the friends I depended on gone.” We all feel this way at times. David had some serious mistrust in his family and among those under his leadership. His own past sins caught up with him. But most of it was due to the greatest sin of selfishness that breeds power grabbing…at all costs.

When we feel we need to lie to get ahead, then we have quickly fallen behind God’s plan. I, like David, am also tired of hearing, “We can talk anyone into anything!” This is as great of a travesty in our world today as it was in David’s life. We understand his disgust at lying.

There was a short time when I was employed by a pastor who felt lying and manipulating was okay as long as his church grew in numbers. What?! Yeah, I did not stay there long. I, too, like David, heard him say, “We can talk anyone into anything!” Scary stuff.

Then we close with, “God’s words are pure words, pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, pure on earth as well as in heaven. Why trust anyone here on earth more than God Himself? I cannot think of one reason why to trust anyone but God Alone. That I have learned in my years of living this journey. Read God’s Word and seek understanding from Him. Don’t just rely on the one up front to tell you what it says. I hope you don’t rely on me to tell what God’s Word says, either! Read, glean and grow from spending time with God yourself. You will never regret it, for God is Truth!

Psalm 12, The Message
A David Psalm

1-2 Quick, God, I need your helping hand!
The last decent person just went down,
All the friends I depended on gone.
Everyone talks in lie language;
Lies slide off their oily lips.
They doubletalk with forked tongues.

3-4 Slice their lips off their faces! Pull
The braggart tongues from their mouths!
I’m tired of hearing, “We can talk anyone into anything!
Our lips manage the world.”

5 Into the hovels of the poor,
Into the dark streets where the homeless groan, God speaks:
“I’ve had enough; I’m on my way
To heal the ache in the heart of the wretched.”

6-8 God’s words are pure words,
Pure silver words refined seven times
In the fires of his word-kiln,
Pure on earth as well as in heaven.
God, keep us safe from their lies,
From the wicked who stalk us with lies,
From the wicked who collect honors
For their wonderful lies.

“On some university campuses, what once was called “Home Economics” is now “The College of Applied Life Studies.” In Tucson, Arizona, potholes are no more, because they’re now known as “pavement deficiencies.” In politics, new taxes are “revenue enhancements,” and in military jargon, “retreat” is “backloading of augmentation personnel.” If, while you’re “backloading,” you get shot, the bullet hole is “a ballistically induced aperture in the subcutaneous environment.” This kind of artificial evasive language is known as “doublespeak,” and its popularity in almost every area of human life is evidence that language and communication are in serious trouble. Our ability to speak and write words is a precious gift of God, and this psalm deals with the right and wrong use of that gift. — Warren Wiersby

Do you get it now?

What is the best response to lies? Tell the Truth…
The things that God condemns are now a means of universal entertainment, and the entertainment industry gives awards to the people who produce these things. People boast about things they ought to be ashamed of (Phil. 3:18-19). Is there a way to restrain and overcome this national decay? Yes! God’s people are salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16). If there were more light in the land, there would be less darkness, and if we had more salt, there would be less decay. As God’s people worship God, pray, and share the gospel with the lost, more people will trust Christ and increase the salt and light in the land. We must also share the truth of the Word with the next generation (2 Tim. 2:2) and prepare them for the battles and opportunities to come (78:1-8; 102:18). The church is always one generation short of extinction, so we must be faithful to win the lost and teach the believers, or vileness will conquer the land.

Dear Heavenly Father, We shutter when good, decent people, go bad. Help us all, to stay alert to Your Truth…live Your Truth…and always tell the Truth. In Jesus Name, Amen