Today I am thinking I don't really know anyone like the people David describes in Psalm 5 when he says: My enemies' mouths do not tell the truth; in their hearts they want to destroy others. Their throats are like open graves; they use their tongues to tell lies. God, declare them guilty! Let them fall into their own traps. Send them away because their sins are many; they have turned against You."
Proverbs 26:28 says: Liars hate the people they hurt. Hmmm. Ever been lied to? Ever lied? Ouch. Maybe the reason it is so egregious to God is that is plays out just like hate. Why would you lie? Usually to cover your own rear end. Then you are telling the person confronting you that she is too stupid to know the truth and was really wrong to trust you in the first place. Telling the truth can be hard when it is an admission of guilt, so you would rather the other person look bad and not you.
But what about lying when it is NOT about guilt? When it is for selfish gain? Lying to set a trap for someone. That is the one I have a harder time with. Surely that is evil. A demonic Ponzi scheme that sets someone up so the liar gains while everyone else loses. Do I know people like that? Maybe. That is the trouble with deceit. It is deceiving. We fall into their schemes like one would fall into an open grave....they push us into their decay. If they cannot be honest with man, they will not be honest with God. Their rebellion makes them vulnerable to judgement - not ours, but God's.
If someone in his/her heart wants to destroy others how will I discern this? How do I keep away from these people? I think maybe they aren't always so slick, like the used car salesman who would sell you a lemon just to get it off the lot and make a commission. You might expect that. But when you have been taken by someone you trust, that makes you cynical because it hurts. Liars keep us off-balance because we expect people to tell us the truth. It is treacherous to be involved with them because the motive of a perpetual liar is our destruction to their gain.
Be careful of flattery, then. Mawkish words that lure you into a connection with a deceiver. Choose carefully those you draw into your heart's inner circle. Don't give too much away too quickly, before you have tested the fruit of their lives. And ask the Father to give you a discerning heart like His so that you do not become the butterfly trapped in the widow's web. The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold, and the Lord tests hearts. (Proverbs 17:3).
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