Plotting Evil Or Promoting Peace Series

Reader, rule your spirit; do not let it rule you. “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God” (Jas 1:20). It is impossible to be the child of God you should be, if you let anger burst from your heart and bring you to shame. There is no glory in anger and strife, regardless of how your flesh, the world, or Satan lies to you (Jas 3:14-16).

He who speaks truth tells what is right, But a false witness, deceit. Proverbs 12:17

This proverb has a picture to paint for us about being a person who speaks truth and what is right, or a person who is deceitful and untrustworthy in what they say. The picture that is painted for us is framed by the Hebrew word used for "speaking" that is mentioned first in this verse. The word used here is the Hebrew word which means to breathe. It refers to how we breathe out. This is a word used in a poetic way in the Old Testament. In the Song of Solomon it speaks of the day breathing. This refers to how the shadows of morning flee at the appearance of the sun. Here in Proverbs 12:17 it refers to the way that we speak - but not just in a specific situation. It refers to our lifestyle - or - what kind of things come out of our mouths in every situation in life. Of course what we see in the rest of the proverb is that we either speak truth or deceit.

There are those who speak truth and what is right. "Truth" is the word which refers to something true and faithful. The primary meaning being communicated with this word is faithfulness. Through the rest of the Bible the word speaks of character - God's in Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 33:4, 100:5, and 119:90 - and that of people in 2 Chronicles 19:9, Proverbs 12:22, and 28:20. When someone is speaking truth - they are being faithful in what they say. The whole proverb says that they are speaking faithfully - and what they speak is finally defined as "what is right." What does all this mean in the end? The faithful man or woman declares what is right. The word for right is the word that speaks of righteousness - or right by God's standard. It is an ethical word that referred to God's justice and righteousness as represented by the Law of Moses - and by the reaffirmation of God's Word by the prophets.

Situational ethics unfortunately rules the day in our world. What is meant by situational ethics? - the position that moral decision making is dependent on a set of circumstances. it is based on the general Christian norm of brotherly love, which is expressed in different ways in different situations. Everything is negotiable. There is no absolute truth - except what you yourself are comfortable in holding - and even that only applies to yourself (except when you are uncomfortable with your own standards - and then you can change those too). What is left is a society founded upon shifting sands.

But as the people of God - the people saved by His grace - we should stand out like brightly painted, fully lit up sore thumbs. We should be like those who regardless of public opinion - hold faithfully to God's Word as absolutes and as our source of truth and what is right. We should not only believe this in our thinking - we also faithfully speak it out of our mouths. In the midst of a world where the winds of change and compromise drive the public conscience wherever they blow - we are a biblical breath of fresh air when we speak. To some we will be a breath of death - but to those who are being saved - it will be a breath of life to life.