Do not take me away with the wicked
Psalm xxviii.3
And with the workers of iniquity,
Who speak peace to their neighbors,
But evil is in their hearts.
This verse intrigues me. David here speaks of those who are “wicked” and “workers of iniquity”, and then describes them as being disingenuous, saying things they don’t mean, saying one thing with their mouth, but thinking something else in their hearts.
In Matthew 12 Jesus addresses the same issue. During an encounter with the Pharisees (the religious leaders of the day) Jesus confronts them about their lying words. They witnessed him heal a man who had been afflicted by an evil spirit, causing him to be both blind and mute. Apparently Jesus wasn’t the only one who was able to cast out such spirits, but because the Pharisees were jealous of his popularity with the crowds, they said something they knew wasn’t true. They knew that the power to cast out evil spirits was from God, but they accused him of doing so with the power of Satan.
Jesus calls their lie, pointing out that they aren’t accusing others of working in the power of Satan when they do similar acts.
Then Jesus says the same thing David said. If you are lying, your heart is full of evil.
Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
Matthew xii.33-37
When was the last time you told a lie? Researchers tells us that the average person tells 3 lies every 10 minutes of conversation. The odds are, you’ve told a lie recently. Most of us wouldn’t like to admit, even to ourselves, that our hearts are wicked and evil, but that’s the truth.
We like to make excuses for our lies, thinking that we’re not really that bad. “I only told that lie so I wouldn’t hurt his feelings.” The Bible says that if we are lying, it’s because there is evil in our hearts. Maybe we’re lying because we value the opinions of others more than we value God’s opinion. Maybe we’re lying because we value other people’s feelings more than we values God’s feelings.
Whatever our reason, the lie is coming from a heart that is wicked and evil, a heart that follows after Satan rather than God. Satan is the father of lies (John 8.44), but God would have us speak the truth always. So the next time you think about telling a lie to spare someone’s feelings, remember these words from the Spirit of Truth:
but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head –Christ–
Ephesians iv.15
Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor.”
Ephesians iv.25
Let’s be grown up Christians and tell each other the truth, in love!
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