Deceit and Judgement

A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will not go free.
A false witness will not go unpunished,
and whoever pours out lies will perish.
Proverbs 19:5,9

One of the many negative things that can be attributed to postmodernism is that it paved the way for deceit to spread like fire in dry grass. Today it is difficult to determine when a man is telling the truth or is spreading a lie. Many now emulate the satanic Joseph Goebbels, Propaganda Minister of the Nazi government who said “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” This seems to be the fundamental communication strategy of totalitarian governments, which seek to maintain with lies the power achieved by force and cunning, and unfortunately for many with great success. Today we can also see how people have lost their honor and how a man’s word is worthless. Commitments are broken and testimony under oath is broken without the slightest trace of remorse. Judicial mechanisms in place to punish these violations of commitment and truth are ignored at the convenience of those in power.

The promise of the Word of God which can not be broken and will be fulfilled without fail, is that all these people who enjoy and profit from using deceit and falsehood will be brought to the punishment they deserve. Divine justice will be ruthless in judging those who made a business of lying to their own advantage. In that day, it will be too late for these deceivers to repent of the conduct with which for years they did great harm to their neighbors. Their fate will be to be thrown into the place where “their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” Have you been deceived or cheated by someone in whom you’ve placed your trust? Let God take care of him. Have you been hurt by deceit used with prejudice? God will also take care of that. Let us put our hope in the justice who is to come without fail when God decides it is time. Let us bring our burdens to the Lord Jesus and take his yoke which is easy and light. Only to God be the glory!

Sheep’s clothings

The plans of the righteous are just,
but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.
Proverbs 12:5

The wicked do not always look like the villains in Hollywood films. In fact, many of them are cleverly disguised beings full of kindness who offer the world apparently useful tips but in reality are cruel beasts preying on the naive and the reckless. They only seek personal glory and destruction of everything that represents goodness and justice. In their hearts there is no trace of the slightest scruples and doing evil gives them immense pleasure. Their favorite weapon is the weapon of his father, deceit. Those who ignore their trickery quickly and easily become victims of their evil purposes. By contrast, the just enjoy goodness and justice. Their weapons are truth, justice, faith, God’s word and love. Their desire is to continually do good to others despite they are recognized for it or not. Their plans are always aligned with the plan that God has prepared for mankind and the rest of creation.

Do you prefer personal glory or the good of your neighbor? To build or to destroy? Do you enjoy seeing others suffer or feel sincere sympathy for the toils of those around you? Only you can decide for which of the two teams you are going to work. A warning, your nature will always tend to align with the team of the wicked. Their behaviors will always seem to be more fun and exciting. Your natural inclination will pull you away from God. Therefore, you must be very careful for the path of righteousness and justice is narrow and it is very easy to deviate from it. If  you still want to join the winning side despite of what your body is asking lean on the transforming power of God that can free you from the bondage of sin, bad behaviors and harmful habits. God is only asking you to act with justice, mercy and humility. This is not much to ask, or is it? Hold fast to Christ and you will know what it means to overcome. To God alone be the glory!

Today’s word for July 17, 2011

Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool—
how much worse lying lips to a ruler!
Proverbs 17:7

One can hardly find a politician who does not use lies as a main weapon. Their livelihood depends on how well he is accepted by the people he represents or he governs. It seems that to be a successful politician or ruler it is required to manage well deception and master the art of manipulation. Obviously I’m generalizing and if some politician or ruler comes to read these lines and does not fit the description above he would understand that the vast majority of his colleagues have given a bad reputation to his occupation. The main problem a ruler faces is wanting to please everyone, which by definition and knowing human nature it is something impossible to achieve. The famed comedian Bill Cosby said: “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” Many leaders do not understand this simple but profound concept and when failing to achieve success they take refuge in lies, which allows them to gain some time to seek another way to achieve popular approval. This only heaps error upon error since, as one wise ruler rightly said: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”Abraham Lincoln.

As we can see, to use deceit to seek popular acceptance is bad business and on top of it, it is something that God abhors. He who has built his reputation on the house of cards of lying cannot end well. If you ever find yourself in a leadership role handle your affairs with the truth in front of you. This will not help you achieve popular acceptance but you will succeed in everything you undertake. Seek advice from the wisdom that comes from above and put your hope in God. Your walk will be much more bearable and you will be able to keep something more valuable than popularity: your integrity. To God alone be the glory!

Today’s word for May 17, 2011

A wicked person listens to deceitful lips;
a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
Proverbs 17:4

Just last week we touched on the subject of the close relationship that exists between deceit and evil. We said that deception is an integral part of evil and that evil can not exist without deception. We also said that these two are linked in such a way that we can not find them separate from each other. Today’s word gives us more information in this regard. Today’s verse tells us of the symbiotic interdependence between these two malignant entities. Evil and deceit feed off each other. Both need of each other to strengthen and to keep doing damage. As soon as truth appears, deceit loses its power and it has no choice but to disappear. Once deceit disappears, evil is weakened and it loses its grip on men and peoples. As long as truth does not assume control over the territory that rightfully belongs to it, evil will be on its own and its consequences will continue to be a burden to humanity.

Many of us complain about how bad things are or how evil is inherent in human nature and we do not realize that our wrong actions and attitudes are contributing to make evil stronger. That is why we must always seek that truth is present. We do not need to defend truth, truth can defend itself. What we have to do is allow it to make an appearance. Truth will take care of eliminating deception at the root. Let us watch around us and let us realize how deceit is present everywhere and how its presence is responsible for uncontrolled evil to run roughshod. When we see deceit running free, let us simply express truth. As light repeals darkness, truth will eliminate deception and its resulting partner, evil. Remember that the word of God is truth. To God alone be the glory!

Today’s word for May 12, 2011

Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but those who promote peace have joy.
Proverbs 12:20

Deception is an integral part of evil and evil can not exist without deception. These two are linked in such a way that we can not find them separate from each other. And this is not surprising since both of them have the same father, Satan. For those who spend their lives looking to profit from the misfortunes of others, deceit is a powerful weapon that seduces, fascinates, numbs and captures hearts and minds. Most people live with the illusion that some day they will find their fortune and therefore they are easily manipulated by lies and false promises. There are even those who justify lying as something that should be used to achieve the greater good. We know where these ideas come from. We who are disciples and followers of the Master Savior should not have any affinity with this pernicious practice because Jesus is the truth and light has nothing to do with darkness. In this postmodern world where people prefer to believe that nobody has the absolute truth but they all have a little bit of it, even if they hold diametrically opposite positions, a lie is easily disguised and runs free without being detected.

In contrast, we find that the search for peace is something that is righteous and brings joy to those who practice it. One of the greatest satisfactions a person may have is to live without conflict. This does not mean we can live in a kind of protective capsule that isolates us from the world for this capsule does not exist. Conflicts will always be just around the corner, looming to make our life more difficult. But if we are wise we will see them coming and with God’s help we shall be able to find a way to avoid them or to mitigate them. Let us flee from deceit and let us always promote peace. This way we will find truth and joy, and we will remain focused on the way of righteousness, which God prepared for us before creation. To God alone be the glory!

Today’s word. March 3, 2011

No one who practices deceit
will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence.
Psalms 101:7

The LORD detests lying lips, says one of the proverbs from the book of the same name. If we are true children of God, we should also hate lies and whoever practices deceit. Where there are lies, there can be no trust, no justice. Lies, together with their associates, flattery, self-righteousness, intrigue and hypocrisy have done more harm to humanity than the atomic bombings during World War II. Lies have a very well defined origin. Our enemy the devil is the father of lies. Of him Jesus said: “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” For sure, we do not want to have any kind of business wit this liar.

Let us keep ourselves as far away as possible from this abominable behavior and let us speak the truth to one another. Lies will always be in opposition to our Lord because He is the truth. If we are true children of God we must practice the truth above all things. His Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and guides us into all the truth. Let us walk with a clear conscience, confident that we are following the path of truth and that our conduct pleases God. To God alone be the glory!