Morning Devotional

July 13, 2005
"Things God Hates" (Part 2)    
    by Don Emmitte

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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 among brothers. (Proverbs 6:16-19 NLT).

Yesterday we looked at the first thing God hates, “Haughty eyes.” You may remember that our conclusion was this was having a heart corrupt with pride manifesting itself in prejudice. The second thing God hates is a "lying tongue."

Truth is the sweetest and most precious sentiment possible to intelligent and honest creatures. Our Lord as a must has always emphasized truth if we are to be pleasing to Him. The Psalmist declares, "LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart" (Psalm 15:1-2). David also said, "I have chosen the way of truth..." (Psalm 119:30). This, too, must be our attitude!

Sadly, there are many who are not concerned with speaking truth. Do you remember the story of Vernon Pierce? It hit the news in 1995. His life was entirely made of lies. It became so complicated that he needed a notebook to keep track of the stories he told his four wives and the other women he was dating. But even that wasn’t enough. The tangled love life of the 33-year-old ex-model began to unravel the year before he was caught when one of the four women to whom he was married sent the police to his home to check up on him. The police found another wife knocking on the door. There was a lot of lying going on. Police said he was dating other women, keeping track of some of them on a 3-by-5 inch card labeled “Who to Marry.” He also carried a little black book in his wallet to keep his stories straight!

The philosopher has said it so well: Oh, what tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive! The greatest problem with deceit is that it can never be changed into the truth. Once, when a stubborn disputer seemed unconvinced, Lincoln said, “Well, let’s see how many legs has a cow?” “Four, of course,” came the reply disgustedly. “That’s right,” agreed Lincoln. “Now suppose you call the cow’s tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?” “Why, five, of course,” was the confident reply. “Now, that’s where you’re wrong,” said Lincoln. “Calling a cow’s tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.”

Remember, it is TRUTH that makes us free! Sometimes the truth is much more difficult to hear, but it is always better to speak it! It should be no wonder to us that God hates lying.