Be Glad You Are Not Them

Proverbs 19:9 (KJV) A false witness shall not be unpunished, and [he that] speaketh lies shall perish.

Our default setting for “false witness” is a verbally spoken statement we know is not true.  I think God has a little wider definition of the term.  There is a principle here.  Apply that principle to government officials, advertising executives, pastors, teachers, the list goes on.

The promise is one we do not want to hear.  Deception will be punished.  That is something to fear if you think you are more clever than the average bear.  It is a promise if you are the one lied to.

So?  God will not be mocked.  His people will not go unavenged.  

Keep Track

Proverbs 14:5 (KJV) A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

We see two obvious categories here.  One is the honest and the other is the dishonest.  And the statements seem to be obvious.  My question would be how can you tell the difference if they’re good at lying?

I think one of the ways that we can tell the difference now is by having paid attention in the past.  Has the person been known to tell lies before?  Have they had shady business dealings?  Have they refused to pay legitimate debts that are not written out as official contracts?  Have they repeatedly deceived?

A little bit of thinking in the past can give you great insight into a person’s character.  Of course, if you’re in a situation where you don’t know their past, you are faced with difficult decisions.  Work with what you have.

So?  You’ve heard about a leopard changing his spots.  The same thing is true of a liar.

A Different Plan

(Pro 25:21 KJV)  If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink:

This is a real issue for today.  We are living in a time where Jesus is under attack both from the world and inside the organized church.  One of the things I have noticed that the world and the pseudo-church have in common is their willingness to lie to win.  You might even think they believe they speak truth but there will be a level where they knowingly twist the truth in order to get their victory.  They are evil and they are the enemies of the cross.  In a very real sense that means they are our enemies also.

This is a real conundrum for us today.  It is difficult because of the witness of the Bible from page to page.  This verse is close to the middle.  This does not mean we do not work to defeat evil.  It does mean that there are certain ground rules we must follow.  It is this kind of thinking that formed the foundation for the Geneva Conventions and the rules of warfare that deal with how we treat prisoners of war.  It was violating this that marked one of the obvious differences between the Christian West and the Socialist East.

So?  We have enemies.  We cannot surrender to their program.  At the same time, we must adhere to the standards of God in the battle.  We are called to be different. 

Dangers of Deceit

(Pro 20:17 KJV)  Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.

If you ever read the comics you are familiar with the Peanuts cartoon that has Lucy holding the football for Charlie Brown and assuring him that this time she will not pull it away.  After the first two or three times I knew what was coming.  Why didn’t Charlie Brown?  In our lives why do we act like him so often?

One reason we keep falling is optimism.  We believe that this time things will be different.  We are not thinking about us but about the other person or the situation.  We think that we made a mistake but that is rectified now and all will be well.

Sometimes it is just a matter of refusing to admit the sin in our own life.  

“Deceit” (falsehood NASB) (8267) is a serious problem.  It is bad enough when we are the target.  It is even worse when we are targeting others.  

So?  Be honest with yourself and with others. 

Feigned Submission

(Pro 6:12-15 KJV)  A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.  He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.  Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.

In my reading I noticed a parallel between Psalms 66 and this verse through at least verse 14.  The verse in Psalms that got my attention misses the point if you are reading the KJV.

(Psa 66:3 KJV)  Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.

That sounds good but read the NASB,

(Psa 66:3 NAS77) Say to God, "How awesome are Thy works! Because of the greatness of Thy power Thine enemies will give feigned obedience to Thee.

The KJV word “submit” (3584) is “feigned” in the NASB.  The word does mean to submit but with a spirit of deception.  This is the submission of the traitor or spy.  This is the person who comes to church and testifies gloriously and then steals out of the offering plate.  As you look through the four verses you see a public persona and a private goal that are totally opposed.

First we need to examine ourselves and make sure we are not falling into this kind of thing.  It is easy to be critical of others in areas where we are weak.  In fact, I think that is fairly common.

Then we need to keep our radar on.  Paul warned the church in Ephesus to be alert for wolves in their midst.  We need to have the same awareness.

So?  Check to make sure your spiritual engines are not in neutral.  Part of having free will is a responsibility to be vigilant. 

Sins of the Mouth

(Pro 21:6 KJV)  The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

There are a number of recurring themes in Proverbs.  One of them deals with sins of the mouth such as gossip, bragging and here, lies.  I don’t think I have had a propensity to lies.  If anything I would deceive by silence, which is a form of lying.  Note the way it is expressed in the Ten Commandments, this from Deuteronomy because I read that today,

(Deu 5:20 KJV)  Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.

For me the teaching moment is to think about all the ways you can bear false witness.  It will be different for each of us and the difference may depend on our creativity and willingness to remember with accuracy.

So?  We live in a world of lies.  Listen to the speeches of politicians.  Read the news.  You don’t have to look far.  Remember that we are to be salt.  We are to be upright.  We are not to be part of the problem as God sees the problem. 

Promises, Promises

(Pro 19:9 KJV) A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

When I read the daily news and listen to podcasts with videos of reporters and politicians I am overwhelmed with the amount of deceit that is being presented.  That does not surprise me.  What disturbs me is that they seem to be getting away with it.  For the moment they are.  Don’t think this will go on forever.  

We like to think about the glorious promises of scripture.  There are also some that are simply panic material.  Here we have God’s promise that liars will be punished.  We want it now but it does not come with a timeline.

So?  Be patient.  Keep living righteously.  One of the realities is that people who skate on thin ice will eventually fall through.  People who constantly draw to insight straights will eventually go broke.  Drunk drivers will eventually kill or be killed.  Stay straight.

Waters of Deception

(Pro 18:4 KJV) The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.

As I write we are in a political season.  Since we are Americans, it is always a political season.  We have a lot of people who want us to listen to them.  I guess this blog is another example of that.  I don’t know if I have anything to say but I have a need to say.  I am satisfied that I am seeking truth.  I may not always recognize it but it is the goal.  You cannot assume that of many of the sources you have.  

Always consider the source.  I remember the first diet drinks that were successful.  They were put out of circulation because of some “research” that said the sweetener caused cancer.  What was of interest was the rumor that the “research” was paid for by the sugar industry.  That is a common denominator in people who push green energy because they want government contracts to teachers that claim they need more money for education.

So?  Remember the words of Jesus,

(Mat 10:16 KJV) Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Don’t fall into the deep waters of deception. 

Long Term Investments

(Pro 8:25 KJV) Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:

I have an ongoing debate with a friend about something called dispensationalism.  It is an interesting conversation that forces me to think about what I believe and why I believe it.  I went to a website that he uses for reference and looked around a bit.  One of the things that I found was a claim that the Christian church had been missing this important insight that they had.  This new idea changed everything.  That is my paraphrase but I think it is honest.

Someone older and wiser once said that if it is new it probably isn’t true and if it is true, it probably isn’t new.  That again is a paraphrase.  It is a good bit of advice.  That is double true when it comes to theology or understanding in the Bible.  There are no great new truths to be uncovered.  We can be reminded, renewed and redirected but not given a whole new message.

So?  Don’t waste a lot of time with popular new gurus.  Invest in that which has been around for the ages.  It will still be there tomorrow. 

Era of Rationalization

(Pro 13:5 KJV) A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame.

In our era of rationalization we keep looking for words that soften the blow of sin.  We water it down to the point where we think we don’t need to be concerned any more.  One way of watering it down is the NASB use of “falsehood” (8267) as opposed to the “lying” of the KJV.  We tend to move toward the part of the definition that says “deception” and put that in the category of what a woman looks like when she gets her make-up on.  Lying sounds so negative.

It is.  We may want to say we were just exaggerating.  Maybe we were but if the stretch was to deceive people and not just to tell a humorous story then we are standing on the bank of the lake of fire, getting ready to jump in.

So?  A lie is a lie is a lie.  You may be able to get away with it with your friends but God is not amused.  Walk in righteousness.

Loopholes

(Proverbs 6:20 KJV)  My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:

I may be looking for loopholes here but I think there is something that is understood but not stated.  I believe it is assumed that the parents described here are people who are following the laws of God and are teaching what is found in the word. 

There is a danger in loopholes.  Too often we are looking for excuses to not do what we know is right.  To often we are trying to make ourselves special cases.  Our motives for obedience or rebellion can turn everything topsy turvy.   The world is full of people who reject the God of the Bible but they still teach that murder is wrong. 

So?  Pay attention to the teaching of your parents but pay even more attention to the written word of God as a verification of what they have to say.  That is a principle that applies to what you hear in school and from the pulpit also.  You can never turn your thinking off. 

Scale of Eternity

(Proverbs 16:11 KJV)  A just weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work.

You may have a different dream but I don’t see myself ever selling produce or running a business weighing recycled aluminum.  The ideas here about honest scales would seem to apply to someone else.  Not so.  The principle is the issue.  There are many ways in which I can cheat without going near weights and measures. 

How do I determine whether I am justified in returning a product I have bought?  Have you ever been tempted to purchase an expensive item, use it the one time you need, and then return it for a full refund?  I hear there are some women who do this with dresses.  I can picture doing it when I need a specialty tool.  What is happening is that the consumer is taking advantage of a retailer who is trying to be fair with his customers.  What we don’t like to admit is that this kind of misrepresentation is a form of lying .  I hope you understand how angry God gets when we lie.

So?  Business ethics are also the responsibility of the customer.  It is a matter of eternal significance.

Little White Abominations

(Proverbs 12:22 KJV)  Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.

“Lying” (8267) is an “abomination” (8441).  If there is one line of demarcation in our society, this is it.  In the church, instead of standing tall for truth we look for ways to redefine what a lie is.  While I will concede that there is a time for diplomacy and tact we have gone overboard to excuse our deceit and exaggerations for personal gain.  You may not want to answer if a dress makes your wife look fat but you do need to let her know that it does not look good on her.

In God’s eyes there is no such thing as “little white lies”.  Try calling them “little white abominations” instead and see how that plays. 

Why do we talk about lies so much?  The main reason is that Solomon felt a need to bring it up so often and the basis for that is the tendency to lie in 800 B.C. as well as the tendency to lie in 2019.

So?  Simple.  Tell the truth.  If you can’t, don’t say anything. 

On Whom Is the Joke

(Proverbs 12:20 KJV)  Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy.

Who are the biggest victims of “deceit” (4810)?  If you are on the short end of a con game you feel like you are the one who suffers.  That is true on today’s radar but if you learn from the experience you come out ahead.  The con artist goes on feeling like he has achieved a victory.

Deceivers think they are winners but what is down the road?  There is a good chance that prison or murder is in their future.  There will be a lot of fear and loneliness.  There lives are like I imagine it must be to have a drug habit with little money.  You have a brief high and then comes the desperate search for the next fix.  Deceit is like that.

So?  A number of things come to mind.  Get the last laugh.  Learn from your mistakes.  Feel sorry for the trickster wallowing in his desperation.  Pray for his foolishness.  Don’t feel like you will be happier if you join him. 

Foundational

(Proverbs 14:22 KJV)  Do they not err that devise evil? but mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good.

One of the confusions we have in evaluating our world is the observation of people who will do the right thing even though they are not a part of the family of God.  History is full of people who do “good” (2896b) but reject God.  What this verse is telling us is that they lack the basic wisdom necessary to build a life of righteousness.  They will eventually “go astray” (8582).  I like that better than the KJV’s “err” because even the righteous will err.  They do not deliberately leave the path of righteousness. 

If you read any of the popular literature on the best seller lists you will be familiar with the kind of protagonists I speak of.  They are often portrayed as patriotic, honorable citizens.  They sacrifice themselves for their country.  They do brave acts.  They are portrayed as role models because of this.  They will help little old ladies across the street and then fornicate with her granddaughter after executing her nephew without a trial.  They are not noble.  They are typical sinners making excuses for gratifying their personal desires.

So?  Be very cautious about the brainwashing that goes on in our world.  It is everywhere.  When you go to the movies be skeptical.  When you go to church, take your Bible and make sure that all the entertaining monologue you are hearing is based on the word of God. 

More than Pants on Fire

(Proverbs 19:9 KJV)  A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish.

There are some promises that are focused on this world.  There are others that look to eternity.  I tend to think this is more an eternal promise than one for this week.  Much of the time, liars will be found out.  You might even say most of the time.  The problem I have is that there seems to be no day of reckoning.  I watch people making up the news or tailoring it to fit their personal agenda.  It becomes obvious and yet the masses keep watching and the paychecks keep coming.  I watch politicians whom cannot be trusted to take out the garbage being reelected.  There seems to be no consequences, at least in this life. 

But God will not be mocked.  One of the Ten deals with telling lies.  Liars will be in the lake of fire.  It is a big issue and He is watching.

So?  We need to allow God to be the referee and judge.  He knows and unless there is genuine repentance He will punish.  We need two things to be true of us.  First, we are to tell the truth.  Second, we are to lift up the liars and hope for repentance.

Section 8

(Proverbs 20:10 KJV)  Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD.

God is not just concerned about the mysterious qualities of eternity.  He is concerned with the everyday business of the world He created.  I mean business literally. 

The earliest reference to this idea is in the Law.

(Leviticus 19:35-6 KJV)  Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.  Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.

We find reference to this concept in the Constitution, Article 1, Section 8, where Congress is given the power

“To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures;”

One of the foundations of society is fair trade.  By that I am talking about the market place even though it might apply between nations.  Have you ever been the beneficiary or the victim of government preferences?  It happens all the time in places you might not think of as an abomination.  When we used to spend time in Hawaii there was a municipal golf course on Maui that had rates that were a little higher than I was used to but cheap for Hawaii.  I think it cost me around $50.00 to play a round.  On a resort it would start around $150 so you can see my point.  I should have been happy but I noticed that if I qualified as a local resident I could play for $15.00.

So?  God has given us a standard of treating people equally whether that is in business or recreation.  The basis of that standard is in the Ten Commandments.  Remember, “Thou shalt not lie.”  Remember, “Thou shalt not steal”.  I guess when I saw the deal the locals got I should have been remembering the commandment about not coveting. 

Who?

(Proverbs 15:29 KJV)  The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

This verse implies and other verses clearly state that, except for the prayer of repentance, God does not hear the prayers of those who reject Him.  Now I have a question.  When rejecters pray and seem to get answers, where do those answers come from?  An extension of that is the question that arises in our observations of society and the lack of justice:  Why are so many rich people evil?  Why do cheaters seem to prosper in spite of the childhood pronouncement that they don’t? 

If God is not the source of their prosperity and wealth, who is?

So?  Be careful what you wish for.  If you have drifted away from listening to what Proverbs calls the Law or we would talk about as the word, if God is not listening, if you are living in rebellion, who wants you to be satisfied? 

Bed Spreads and Bed Bugs

(Proverbs 7:16 KJV)  I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt.

Have you ever visited a home that has covers on all the living room furniture.  Maybe your home is like that.  Sometimes you never know about it because they take them off for your visit.  One of the purposes of the coverings is to protect the furniture.  That is a legitimate reason to cover something.  Another legitimate reason is to make old furniture look presentable because you can’t afford anything better.  A beautiful tablecloth can make an old laminated kitchen table look elegant.  Too often the cover is to conceal the truth and deceive.

We can do this in our lives.  We can take the decayed morals we live every day and dress them up for Sunday or for a family dinner.  We can live one way publically and another way when only God knows we are being deceptive.  Jesus gave an example of this kind of behavior.

(Mark 7:11 KJV)  But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.

Here a man who is responsible for caring for his aged parents is instead putting it into the building fund at church.  Perhaps it could be a father ignoring the needs of his children.  God is not amused.  Think of a hotel that covers their bedbugs with expensive linens.  It doesn’t help.

So?  You can fool people.  You cannot fool God.  Ultimately you cannot fool your own heart.  I need to think about what I am covering up in my life. 

Where Water Runs Uphill

(Proverbs 14:12 KJV)  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

At Knott’s Berry Farm they used to have a spot called the Haunted Shack.  It may still be there but I have not been there since I had hair.  You have seen variations of it.  They make it look like water will run uphill and a chair will let you sit in it half way up the wall.  There is a “right” (3477) and there is a real.  Your eyes see it but you know it can’t be true.  Your mind can explain the phenomenon but your eyes still see the impossible.

Often in life we see what appears to be right and true.  If we are out of contact with the unchanging God we might follow on that path.  But for those who have read their Bible and spent time in the presence of the eternal there is something that we know is wrong.  When we hear people telling us to accept couples living in fornication because they are in love and God is love, it sounds so beautiful.  The problem is that the meaning of love has been twisted to make it look like water is running up hill.

So?  Deception is all around.  We are only human.  He is “only” God and has provided us with the tools to tell what is really right and what is illusion.  Remember that the level doesn’t do any good in your toolbox.