Lying and Flattering

Jesus and the Just Reign of God
Live Justly in the Reign of God
Control Your Speech

Psalm 12

The Message

A David Psalm

12 ^1-2 Quick, God, I need your helping hand!
The last decent person just went down,
All the friends I depended on gone.
Everyone talks in lie language;
Lies slide off their oily lips.
They doubletalk with forked tongues.

^3-4 Slice their lips off their faces! Pull
The braggart tongues from their mouths!
I’m tired of hearing, “We can talk anyone into anything!
Our lips manage the world.”

⁵ Into the hovels of the poor,
Into the dark streets where the homeless groan, God speaks:
“I’ve had enough; I’m on my way
To heal the ache in the heart of the wretched.”

^6-8 God’s words are pure words,
Pure silver words refined seven times
In the fires of his word-kiln,
Pure on earth as well as in heaven.
God, keep us safe from their lies,
From the wicked who stalk us with lies,
From the wicked who collect honors
For their wonderful lies.

 
For Reflection

With so much lying, flattery and half-truths rampant in our society, who can you believe?  Once the lie is told, once the empty flattery is discovered, and the half-truths revealed, how do we learn to trust?  This is the evil in the lie.  This is the false image in the flattery.  This is the seduction in the half-truth. 

Pray

"that our God will make you fit for what he’s called you to be, pray that he’ll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with his own energy so that it all amounts to something."