Deceit
Good Morning,
Mark 12:13 “And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words."
There is great freedom in simply loving people. We have all read or watched a spy story in which someone was not who they pretended to be, or maybe a double agent was seeking to blend in with another nation's enemies. What a tense, ugly life.
A life of loving people, honoring truth, and being unashamed to speak that truth brings freedom! For a man “to be” outwardly what “he is” inwardly offers peace and great security. There is a wealthy immigrant named Dinesh D'Souza, a conservative media figure, who genuinely loves America. He produced a few movies with political goals exposing corruption. He was briefly jailed for revealing the truth. People in power hated him for showing the world what they truly were.
These religious leaders in Jesus’ time were deeply afraid of the truth Jesus preached. Our Lord would often expose their hypocrisy, deceit, and evil. These men could not tolerate the truth being spoken and were so hostile that they would stop at nothing to eliminate Him; twisting the truth was their obvious weapon.
Luke 11:54 “Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.”
I once listened to an attorney who was confronted with the truth, and this was the response: “I don’t care about right or wrong, I care about winning.” When you have to pretend to be honest, you are not! When you have to pretend to be sincere, you are not! When winning means more than truth, you are a hopeless, worthless person whose name and values were long ago tossed in the trash.
Luke 20:20 “And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words…”
When it is said of our Lord’s enemies, they would “feign themselves just men,” it is obvious that they were NOT just men.
Here are a few thoughts about this idea:
1. Be honorable, true, and so live that you do not need to pretend to be what you are not.
2. When you discover a double standard or hypocrisy in your life, stop it, and fix it immediately.
3. When you discover someone is intentionally a fraud, pretending to be what they are not, cut off any serious relationship with them. If you do not, you will always be unsure and at risk. You will never be able to depend upon them.
4. In politics, media, and religion, keep up your guard; understanding that men who desire the power to influence others frequently use such tactics. Do not soon believe what you read or hear.
5. Develop long-lasting relationships that have been proven over many years, insuring the nature and character of people is true, then you will be able to relax and to accept their words as sincere.
6. Never accept the words of a stranger or a newer acquaintance against a person proven over decades.
Pastor