Day 206, Year 1

Paying Attention to Falsehood Brings More Wickedness 

“If a ruler pays attention to falsehood, All his ministers become wicked.” (Proverbs 29:12 NASB) 

“A lying tongue hates those who are crushed by it, And a flattering mouth works ruin.” (Proverbs 26:28 NKJV)

The word “wicked” in the first verse is rasha’, which also means “criminal, or guilty of sin (against God or man).” This verse implies that rulers who love listening to lies are either surrounded by treacherous or evil ones. And this makes sense. “Falsehood” in the first verse and “lying” in the second are the same Hebrew word sheqer, which also means “deception (what disappoints or betrays one), deceit, fraud, falsity (of self-deceived), or false tongue.” I would like to translate this word as “deception” or “deceit” because when lies and falsehoods are on the surface, their nature inside is actually deceptive. Deception can cause all kinds of filthiness and sin, and it is the main reason why fools should not reveal their own minds. As they speak out about any deceits, though they may be unaware of it, the fools further consolidate existing deceptions and mislead people further. Deception leads people to complain against God because they do not see the trials and goodness behind suffering.

The second verse seems to point to the work of the devil and its henchmen. Convicted by God for its rebellion against Him, it turned its hatred toward Him onto humans, trying to deceive us. If we want to overcome temptations, it is impossible for us to surrender to the devil. But we must become God’s servants and cast it out. Having this in mind, the devil despises all whom it deceives. It pretends to be good with flattery, but its real intention is to ruin people’s lives, leading them to death with beautiful lies. So, our faith needs to be unwavering. Our greatest enemy is often not only the obvious love of the world, but the hidden distortion and fake truth. Therefore, we should beware of all flatteries, understand and expose all the deceptions within them.

God is not only good, but also the source of all truth. Complaints against Him usually contain false associations and even lies of the wicked, so they should not be spoken. But we need to understand more about the truths and the falsehoods in our minds, and consider whether the source of superficial pleasant words is good or not in nature. Those who accept lies are substantially accepting hatred, a force that will surely destroy them; and accepting, or even pursuing superficial pleasantries, corrupts the hearts deep down. Therefore, we should despise and reject all lies and flatteries. Only then can we avoid perishing eternally with liars.

Reflection questions:

1) How should we, as believers, discern internal and external deceptions or deceits within us, if any?

2) Are you used to pondering what is beneath pleasantries or flatteries? How can you understand the real message behind people’s words more effectively?