For months now (and unfortunately more to come) we have been overrun with news, political ads, sound-bites, etc. of those running for office. In Kentucky, it’s the gubernatorial race and other positions of interest. Nationally, the Presidential race is front and center.
I’m not going to make any comments on political persuasions, but just say that if they were all shaken up in a barrel, most would come out as fish hooks. Who do you believe? What do you believe?
Politicians have been blowhards since the first person ever ran for office, but tooting your own horn and trying to destroy the name of an opponent are worlds apart. Here is my thought in this article.
God says in the book of Proverbs, “There are six things the LORD hates— no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.” (Proverbs 6:16-19 NLT)
Let’s look at these one at a time.
1. Haughty eyes: Do you know of any politician who is proud?
2. A lying tongue: Have you ever met a politician who would tell the truth? If you did, you would never know it, since there is so little of it going around.
3. Hands that kill the innocent: How many support abortion?
4. A heart that plots evil: Can you imagine what scheming plans are hatched in those “back rooms?”
5. Feet that race to do wrong: If shoe prints were evidence of a crime, they all would be convicted.
6. A false witness who pours out lies: Read your newspapers. Listen to the television news. You have to cut with a scalpel to find the truth.
7. A person who sows discord in a family: Again, it doesn’t matter whose family you destroy as long as you get what you want.
Obviously, sin is sin, but there are sins that God hates more than any others. He says so in the verses above. In you think about it, only one is an overt sin; i.e. murder (hands that kill the innocent). The others are sins of the mind and the tongue.
Since this article is “Don’t Tell Me No Lies”, let’s keep it on the second sin mentioned; i.e. a lying tongue. I can remember a time when a man’s word was his bond. You could actually shake that man’s hand, and his word would be honored. He told the truth, and he kept his word. I’m sure some of those people are still around, but they’re like finding a gold nugget hidden in a mountain.
Jesus said, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it (emphasis mine).” (John 8:44) Allow me to give you this verse in another translation, “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character (emphasis mine); for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (NLT)
Sad it is that we now live in a world where telling the truth is so difficult for some people. Believe me, in my line of work, I see this every day. They will look you right in the eye, and tell a yarn so big, it’s a wonder they don’t choke on it. I dare say, that some people have spent so much of their lives telling lies they have actually come to believe them.
I am also amazed at the number of people who will believe anything, or is it that they will believe anything or they just don’t care? If a man, whether running for office, writing an article in the newspaper, delivering news by television or radio, or via the Internet is telling lies, he (or she) has no character. Why? They are of their father the Devil. Don’t listen to them! Run! Folks, don’t be so naïve as to believe everything you hear or read, especially from sources who have much to gain from lying.
Our Presidential election, coming up next year in 2012, may be the most important this country has ever faced. Pray first of all, that we will have someone worth voting for. This is critically important. Then pray that the Lord show you which button (or shad) to push. Every Christian should be spending time now, asking God for direction in this area, asking Him to help us have a clear mind and be able to filter the truth from the overwhelming onslaught of lies that come our way.
The media generally has no qualms in broadcasting anything that will forward their own agenda. They have attacked certain individuals and their families relentlessly over time and are still up to their evil diabolical schemes to get their favorites elected. They will hide any shenanigans of their own kind, while digging up anything they can find, true or not, on their “enemies.” They have no scruples.
We should not vote for someone because they’re “pretty,” or silver-tongued, or even what they say necessarily. Look at their record. Above all else, if you are a Christian, listen to God. Pray. Pray. Pray about your decision. Then vote as the Lord leads you. For Heaven’s sake, don’t stay home and not vote. If you’re not registered to vote, then get registered, and vote.
I believe with all my heart, that as a Christian, if we ask, God will speak to us. He will show us who is the liar and who is not. But we must ask. Jesus says, “And all things (emphasis mine), whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” (Matthew 21:22)
God hates a lying tongue. “Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!” (Psalms 34:13 NLT) This doesn’t apply to just politicians, but to everyone. God is Truth. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) So how can we lie or vote for a liar, and still identify ourselves with God?
Grant Phillips