DECEMBER 11
“Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favour and good repute in the sight of God and man”- (Proverbs 3:3-4)
What is the difference between a “good” lie and a “bad” lie? Is there indeed a difference? Deception in one form or another seems to be so much a part of people's lives nowadays.
As some of you may know, my house, along with others in the area, has been under-going exterior insulation work in aid of the governments “greener housing” project. The work has been carried out to a good standard but a couple of finishing jobs have yet to be completed, and I am waiting,,,,and waiting.
You're probably wondering what this has to do with so called, “white lies?” Well, right in the middle of a communication shut-down, my window-cleaner arrived bearing tales of customers who have been waiting three months or more for their work to be completed. The devil had sent his 'snake' – his advocate, offering a Garden of Eden solution....LIE....lay on the pathos, say there have been intruders trying to break into the house – anything to get what I want – just LIE....always works!
Whoa, wait a minute! Doesn't the Bible say God hates a lying tongue? “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight” - (Prov. 12:22).
What is desirable in a man is his kindness, and it is better to be a poor man than a liar (Proverbs 19:22).
From this it's clear that there's no such thing as a “good” lie. In the future, had I taken my window-cleaner's advice, would he still trust me? Still comply to my 'no cleaning windows during Sabbath hours rule', as he does now? Far more importantly, what value is a couple of uncompleted jobs when weighed in the balance of losing my street cred as a Christian and becoming a first class hypocrite!
As followers of Jesus Christ....we are called to put away the old self with its practices, which includes lying (Col. 3:9). Therefore, let us make this our prayer: Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?” Or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God (Proverbs 30:8-9). Paul Tautges, Counsellor.
“Fool's Gold” - Gaither, is the title of today's song. Click on the picture to listen.
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Housekeeping details for you
The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.
A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here
