Flattery

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts. May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue— those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

Psalm 12:1-4

Flattery seems harmless enough. So what if we "put a little extra butter on the bread" to make someone else feel good about himself? But flattery isn't just bending the truth a little in order to be nice to people. Flattery is buttering someone up with smooth words in order to get something from them. Flattery parades as something that is all about the other person. In reality it is always about the flatterer. He or she wants something and is willing to lie and deceive to get it. They flatter either in the hopes that it will endear them to the person who can give them what they want, or in order to gain the trust of someone whom they plan to betray and steal what they want from. Flattery is nothing more than manipulation for your own ends. The psalmist is right when he says "no one is faithful anymore... Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts."

Listening to flattery is dangerous. Most people agree that flattery sets such an alluring trap because we are all a little too eager to read our own fan mail. We aren't suspicious of flattery because it feeds the vanity that already resides in our hearts. "Finally!", we think. "Someone recognizes me for how great I am." This unchecked and often unnoticed pride makes us all too willing to believe flattery's lies. Proverbs 29:5 rightly warns, "Those who flatter their neighbors are spreading nets for their feet." People don't flatter us to build up our self-esteem, but to take from us what they want. They are baiting us. The employee compliments his boss in order to get a promotion. For men to flatter women with lies in order to get sex is so common a dating practice today that it is hardly even looked down upon anymore.

What are we to do against those who would attack us with such deceptively friendly methods? How can the poor protect themselves from those who gain power through flattery and then use it to extort the needy? Turn to the Lord! Psalm 12 continues: "'Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,' says the Lord. 'I will protect them from those who malign them'” (Psalm 12:5). What an encouragement for the afflicted to hear that God Himself will come to their rescue! But dare they trust God's word? You can almost hear the afflicted scoff. "Sure! God says He will arise and protect me. It sounds too good to be true to me." But the psalmist anticipates this response. "And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times" (Psalm 12:6). He tells us that God's words are not like the flatterer's. God's words can be trusted. They are pure and true. Thus, we can say in confidence, "You, Lord, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked, who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race" (Psalm 12:7-8).

So what can you do in the face of flattery?

1. Turn to God for protection from those who would afflict you with power gained by deceptive means.
2. Ask God for wisdom and discernment to identify flattery when someone tries to use it against you.
3. Regularly read God's Word. It is only as we view ourselves in the light of the truth of His Word that we gain a realistic view of ourselves. This is the best way to kill that remaining pride in our hearts which makes us so susceptible to flattery.
4. And guard your mouth! Remind yourself that the believer should never resort to flattery and manipulation in order to gain for himself what God is so very capable of providing for His children already.

For further reading...

• Proverbs 26:28- They are up to no good!
• Jude 16- Why do they flatter?
• I Thessalonians 2:4-6- Paul never used flattery.

God Weighs the Heart

Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.

Proverbs 21:2 (NASB)

When I was in high school, I worked for my father in the summer. He had a small civil engineering firm. I would work with his land surveyors. One day when I was working out in the field, it began to rain, so we packed up the electronic equipment and went to grab lunch. We made our way to a pizza joint in the area and waited out the rain eating pizza and playing video games. After about an hour the rain subsided and the sun came out. I thought it was about time to head back out, but my crew chief said it could start raining again any time. It really wouldn't be any use to get all the way back out into the field and set up the equipment just to have it start raining again, so we should just stay there and play video games a little while longer, he reasoned. I knew that was an excuse to play video games, but I rationalized that he was in charge and I really didn't have the right to disagree with him. I didn't want to seem like the kiss-up boss' son. And who knows? He might be right, I thought. It really could start raining again any time. So we played Ms. Pac-Man a little while longer. Rationalizations like this sound good in your head, but when your father walks through the door of a pizza joint and sees you playing video games when you should be out working, you suddenly realize how faulty they are. Needless to say I was more than a little embarrassed, and I imagine my crew chief was too.

We all make excuses to do what we want to do. We all rationalize our behavior. We find reasons to think that what we want to do is the right thing to do or at least that it's okay for us to do. But the truth is that God isn't going to judge us by our excuses. He will judge us by our hearts. Proverbs 21:2 tells us that "Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts." The Lord will look past our excuses and our rationalizations and He will look at what really motivated our behavior: our heart. The truth is that my excuses for staying and playing video games that day were just ways of explaining away my behavior. They weren't the real reason I stayed. I stayed because I would rather play video games than go work in the hot sun. I would rather play video games than stand up to my crew chief.

There will come a day when our heavenly Father will surprise you without warning just like my father did on that day. He will enter into judgment on that day against the whole world. And He will judge you for everything you have ever done. Most of us are all too eager to explain away our sin and make excuses for ourselves; but on that day our excuses will not matter. God isn't going to judge you based on the ingenuity of your excuses. He is going to weigh your heart. He will look at your intentions, what you loved and why you actually did what you did. He will look at the true motives behind your behavior. So resist the urge to explain away your bad temper, your filthy language, your tendency to gossip, your occasional drunken frolic, or your sexual activity outside of marriage. Focus today on doing what is right in God's eyes based on what His Word says instead of doing what is right in your own eyes. Ask God to open your eyes today so you can see the sin in your life that you have excused for too long, then repent and ask Him for forgiveness and freedom from that sin based on His Son's death and resurrection. 

For further reading...

• Proverbs 16:2- Do you think this proverb is restating the same point as Prov. 21:2, or is there some difference?
• Judges 21:25 & 2:11-23- The book of judges reveals a sad cycle of sin that happens when men do what is right in their own eyes. The people of Israel would turn away from God into idolatry until God punished them by means of oppression from a foreign nation. Finally, Israel would repent and God would send a judge to deliver them. Then in time, Israel would turn away from God into idolatry again, and the cycle would repeat.

YOLO!

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

We use phrases like "you only live once" and "you only get one life" to remind us to live life for all it's worth, to take that once in a lifetime trip, and to seize the day. The truth is we never know if we'll have tomorrow. But what if we stopped thinking "you only get one life" and shifted our thinking to "you only get one eternity"? What if we focused less on squeezing every last bit of enjoyment out of this life and focused more on squeezing every bit of enjoyment we can into eternity?

I'm not saying it's wrong to be able to mark several big items off your bucket list. It's not that any of these things are wrong in and of themselves. What I am asking is "Is there a better more eternity focused way to spend our time and money?" The people I most look up to aren't the best travelled or most cultured. The people I really want to be like are men like George Muller. He poured all of his energy, time, and money into orphanages which helped raise more than 10,000 orphans in his lifetime and schools which helped educate over 120,000 children.* Muller simply trusted God to provide the money for these ventures. He never once asked anyone for a donation. He opted instead to leave room for the Holy Spirit to inspire people to give. 

I look up to the men and women who surrendered to a call to the mission field when that meant a life sentence. I don't know if you know this, but there was a time in history when missionaries leaving for the field would literally pack all of their belongings in a pine casket and board a ship to their final destination. They recognized that they were moving there for the remainder of their lives, which were often far too short due to disease or hostile locals. Sometimes these missionaries even wrote last letters to their relatives before they left. (To learn more about this and to read some samples of these letters and some modern day versions go to thelastletter.org/wall.)

As I think about these people I wonder... if I ever do save up enough money to take that once in a lifetime trip- what's really the wisest use of that money and time? Should I say to myself, "I only live once so let's take this big trip and tick this item off my bucket list? Let's enjoy life while we have it?" Or does it make more sense to say, "I can build an orphanage in Ghana for the same amount of money and help provide care for children who need to hear the good news about Jesus. I could enjoy the rewards for the way I spend this money for all of eternity!"? 

It's really hard to do, but I want God to continue working in my life to make me the latter type of person. I'm not saying that I will never do anything nice for my family, but I would rather spend my time and energy storing up treasure for eternity.

Perhaps David says what I am trying to get at best in Psalm 17:13-14 when he describes the wicked in part as "those of this world whose reward is in this life." May the Lord remind us all this week that our reward is not in this life like the wicked. We do not live to make the most of this life. Rather we live this life to the uttermost in order to make the most of eternity.

For further reading...

• Luke 12:13-21- What Jesus has to say about storing up things for yourself if you are not rich toward God.
• Luke 3:7-14- John the Baptist's definition of "fruit that is in keeping with repentance."
• 2 Corinthians 8:1-15- Paul's advice for giving.

* This info is widely supported but the Wikipedia entry on George Muller is the most concise way to come about it.

Glamorless

The next section was repaired by the men of Tekoa, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

Nehemiah 3:5

Serving the Lord is not always glamorous. In fact, it rarely is. Don't let the TV preachers fool you. It's not about sequined jackets or puffy hairdos. The Bible talks about feeding widows, caring for orphans, healing lepers, protecting the foreigner and the stranger, and showing hospitality to those who need a place to stay. Jesus Himself walked the dusty roads of Palestine for three and a half years, healing and loving on the dregs of his society. He "put his shoulder to the work" of the cross, carrying it to the place of His crucifixion (John 19:17). He did not think it below Him to take your sin and your punishment upon Himself but "took on the nature of a servant" and "humbled himself" even to the point of  "death on a cross" (Philippians 2:7-8).

The Apostle Paul also gives us an example to follow. The great missionary financed his journeys at times by working as a tent maker during the day and preaching when he could (Acts 18:3-4, I Thess 2:9, II Thess 3:7-10). Paul never thought of himself as too good to do the Lord's work. Paul saw himself as he truly was...a vile sinner saved by grace. Redeemed out of slavery to sin, Paul had become a slave of God...a willing servant who "put his shoulder to the work" willingly with a grateful heart. He once wrote of the church as a great body in which the different members are asked to do different jobs. Just like the human body cannot be all mouth or all foot, the church cannot be all prophet or all teacher. Paul notes that "the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it" (I Cor 12:23-24).

Jesus Himself said to His disciples, "So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’” (Luke 17:10). So maybe God has been asking you to do something that you thought was below you or maybe it was just something you didn't want to do. Refusing to obey God is never a good idea. (See the story of Jonah for a refresher on how that works out!) So choose today to do whatever God has called you to do and whatever the Bible commands you to do with a cheerful heart as a thanks offering unto your Lord Himself. 

For further reading...

• I Cor 12:12-31- Which part of the body are you?
• Luke 17:7-10- A hard word on the true nature of servitude.
• Jonah- Trying to run from God's command?

Who Do You Live For?

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Mark 1:35-39

Jesus has just healed a great many people the night before. He is beginning to gain momentum and build a name for himself in this town, and what does he decide to do? Leave and go to the next town, because "that is why I have come." Jesus could have stayed and been famous! But He doesn't do that because He knows that isn't what He has been sent to do. You see right at the very beginning of Jesus' ministry He has a chance to grab at personal glory, but He walks away. Jesus decides that He will not settle for personal notoriety and success. He will live His life for God's glory, not His own. Now this may seem like an odd thing to say about one of the most famous people in the history of the world, but you must remember that in His lifetime Jesus was not considered that significant. He never married. Never had kids. Never owned a home. He traveled, but not really very far. (Paul traveled much further than Jesus did.) Yes, at times Jesus had a large following. But this wasn't God's ultimate purpose for Him. This is evident from stories like the one we find in John 6:22-71 where Jesus loses many of his followers because of a hard saying. Jesus didn't shy away from saying difficult things for the same reason He found it so easy to move on from town to town. His purpose wasn't to build Himself up, but to announce the coming of the kingdom of God to the people of God. His greatest desire was obedience to God not increasing His own following.

What is your greatest desire? Better yet, what are you living life for? If you are anything like me, each week feels like a marathon. You barely make it day to day, getting done all that you have to do. You just make it to the weekend...a weekend which rarely affords you enough rest to feel ready to head into the next marathon week. How true God's Word is when it says, "Each day has enough trouble of its own!" (Matthew 6:34) If you are living like this, expending all this effort, what are you living like this for? For more money? For a bigger office? To hear your kids say thank you one day? Or are you doing, whatever you are doing to obey God, to enlarge His glory, His name, and His pleasure. Or let me put it this way, who are you living life for? Are you trying to make your parent's proud or your spouse happy? Are you trying to provide enough stuff for your kids so they don't feel out of place at school? Or are you living solely for the One who created you and who loves you (even when you rebel against Him in sin), the One who took on flesh and experienced the pains of everyday living in order to save you from your sin, and the One who is drawing you to Himself even now? Who are you living for? Choose today. Will you live for yourself, for other people or for God? (Hint: you should really choose God!)

For further reading...

• Philippians 2:1-11- Jesus didn't consider equality with God something to be grasped.
• John 6:22-71- I love Peter's line, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
• John 12:42-43- Two of the saddest verses in all of the Bible. These men chose to live to please other people.