| “Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put perverse lips far from you.” – Proverbs 4:24 |
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| Tell the TRUTH THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH Very few topics in the Word of God receive as much attention as being honest. For instance, when you look at the Ten Commandments you find that two speak directly about honesty as we are told NOT to STEAL and NOT to BEAR FALSE WITNESS. When you come to the Book of Proverbs you find that it addresses over and over the topic of honesty. There are verses about lying compared to truthfulness like Proverbs 12:22 that tell how God feels about these two opposites. Proverbs 12:22 says, “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are His delight.” There is verse after verse in Proverbs about not being a false witness. For instance, we find in the list of things that God hates (Proverbs 6:16-19) that He hates “A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.” Proverbs 19:5 tells how the one who thinks lying will help them escape consequences that it will not happen. It says, “A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape.” Proverbs 25:18 tells just how harmful a false witness is. Read carefully as it says, “A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow.” There are numerous verses about the deceitful tongue or mouth which our verse to DATE is commanding us to put away. In Proverbs 11:11 we learn how destructive the deceitful liar can be as it says, “When God blesses his people, their city prospers, but deceitful liars can destroy a city.” We find God’s Word speaking clearly in the NT about honesty. Colossians 3:8 tells us to put away obscene talk and verse 9 says to stop lying to one another. As well Ephesians 4:25 says, “Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.” Let us be honest here. While we do not want someone telling a lie about us let us make sure we are not telling lies about others. Our verse to DATE also demands we put perverse lips far from us. Tied very closely to being deceitful the idea of speaking perverse or perverted is to TWIST. The perverse person twists the truth. They don’t just mishandle the truth, they seek to mangle the truth. They want the truth to be hard to be found. The deceitful mouth will seek to cover up the truth. The perverse lips will seek to confuse one on what the truth is. As God finds lying an abomination He also finds the perverse person an abomination. Proverbs 11:20 says, “Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD.” The great danger of the preserve person is they stir up strife as Proverbs 16:28 says, “A perverse man sows strife,” Friends, we are to be telling the TRUTH THE WHOLE TRUTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH about ourselves and about others! Don’t cover up the truth with deceit and don’t twist the truth in order to bring confusion! Verse to DATE the Word on April 24 (4/24) is Proverbs 4:24. It says, “Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put perverse lips far from you.” Are you being CAREFUL with your words to ensure they are TRUTHFUL? Continue Strong speaking HONESTLY, And remember to DATE the Word |