The Blacklist
Pt. 2 - Tongue Tangled
I. Introduction
Lists are a part of life. Lists on paper. Lists on your phone. Lists are supposed to keep us ordered. "To Do Lists" and "Honey Do Lists". They are supposed to keep us on track . . . "Shopping Lists". There are lists you want to have . . . "Bucket Lists" and "Wish Lists". There are lists you want to be on the "No call list" and lists you definitely do not want to be on God's Blacklist. That's right most of us are not even aware of the fact that God has a blacklist, but He does. We are not aware of this list because we tend to focus so strongly on God as love. It is the premier attribute He has when it comes to His dealings with us. It is the attribute that shields us from what we deserve. It is the attribute that motivated the greatest gift that could be given . . . His Son. God is love and we should be thankful for that. So with the intense focus on His love when we are then told that God hates something we should be inclined to sit up and take notice.
We should be diligent to know His blacklist so that we avoid it at all costs. Let's read God's Blacklist!
II. Text
Proverbs 6:16-19
There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
Solomon using strong language, dropping the "H" Bomb says that God hates six things and then adds a seventh thing that is detestable.
Today we will talk about two of these together because they are connected by a common thread . . . the tongue. Solomon says that God hates a lying tongue and then almost repeats it again when he says God hates a false witness who pours out lies. Think about that one second . . . Solomon is attempting to pare down everything in the universe that God literally hates and lying or being untruthful not only makes the list, but it gets mentioned twice! Instead of taking that spot and finding another item that we know causes destruction like drunkenness, divorce, stealing, or any other vice the wise man says twice that God cannot stand, literally despises . . . hates lying!
I think it is essential for us to understand why lying is so big of a deal to God.
Truth is foundational.
Our basis for trust in God is truth. If He wasn't truth, then we would be in trouble. Every promise, every declaration, everything including salvation is suspect if we call into question God's ability to be true. So, He is committed to and partial to truth. In fact, one of the statements that we hang our hat on when God says something that is difficult to believe is that "He is not a man that He should lie!" "There is no shadow of turning in Him!" I don't know about you, but I am thankful that when God says, "He loves me, knows me, can use me, is guarding me, is guiding me, is providing for me, is healing me" and countless other promises that I can take Him at His word.
Therefore, when we as His representatives on the earth lie we stand in direct opposition to who He is. We literally misrepresent Him! And worse yet . . .
Lying links us to Lucifer.
Solomon actually addresses this in detail in verse 12 when he talks about people that lie. In original language he calls them "Men of Belial". This word literally means "without value or worth. It is translated as a naughty person but in original and then later Paul when he asks, in 2 Corinthians 6, what relationship God has to Belial, the liar is connected to Satan.
We know that Satan works directly opposite of God. If God is love, then Satan works in hate. If God is peace, then Satan operates in chaos. If God is joy, then Satan is depression. If God is life, then Satan leverages death. Since the foundation of God's operation is truth . . . Satan lives in lying. It is at the root of who he is. Lack of truth caused his fall. So we know that the enemy moves in and works truth lies. In fact, he is not only known as Satan, Lucifer, but as "The father of lies"! They originate and find their beginning/source in him. Therefore, when we lie we are not only aligning ourselves, but literally linking ourselves to him. When we lie we become an agent, ambassador, a partner with the devil! That is why it is an oxymoron to say we are a lying Christian. If you are lying you are playing for the other team.
If they can't trust your word, then why would they trust His Word!
Since a lie links us to Lucifer, why would someone believe we are on God's team if we can't tell the truth? We must understand that our word is HIS Word. Quit being a pervert. To lie literally means to "willfully pervert the truth!" You make a conscious (and for some of us that decision is quick and common because we do it so much) to twist, distort, or pervert the truth! In the second mention, the writer even goes further and talks about bearing false witness (which is also one of the commandments) which carries the idea of trying to prejudice a judge against a person. Truth twisting to taint another's opinion about a person. This is in turns impugns or slanders the character of that person!
We need a truth revolution! Scientific studies show that one average most people lie once or twice a day. And it is equal in both men and women. If we are going to convince people to trust God's Word, then we must get back to telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Quit stretching the truth, telling little white lies (no such thing), and let's become brutally and lovingly honest. Why? Because it is the truth that will set you free! Perhaps the reason we continue to be bound and see other people bound is because our tongue filled with lies keeps them chained to a follower of "The Father of Lies"!
Listen to what Solomon says in vs. 12-15. . .
12-15 Riffraff and rascals talk out of both sides of their mouths. They wink at each other, they shuffle their feet, they cross their fingers behind their backs. Their perverse minds are always cooking up something nasty, always stirring up trouble. Catastrophe is just around the corner for them, a total smashup, their lives ruined beyond repair.
Quit crossing your fingers! Get off "The Blacklist"! Let your commitment to God be exemplified by your commitment to truth! Refuse to allow your tongue to tangle you in trouble. Refuse to run with those who operate in lies.
III. Close
Are you on the right list? Are you guilty of stretching the truth? Do you bear false witness? Whose team are you on?
