This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips but their hearts is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men (Matthew 15:8-9).
What a serious indictment! In our key verse above, our LORD Jesus Christ was addressing the religious community of His day. He accused them of being untruthful in their dealings with Him. They were breaching the fundamental principle of life-truth. They were practicing falsehood in the name of God. This indictment is also applicable to our generation so that we do not commit the same violation of falsehood. Imagine lying to a doctor about your health condition! If a man is not truthful to God, he cannot be truth to himself. He will definitely struggle to be truthful to his neighbor. Truth is walking in the light; falsehood is groping into the darkness.
Let`s look at an example of operating against the truth in Luke 18:10-14. This is the account of the two men who went to the temple(church) to pray, one was a Pharisee(a religious leader-pastor or bishop)) and the other, a publican(blatant sinner). The religious leader, though equally a sinner too, did not acknowledge the truth about his sinfulness and the lost condition of his soul. He hid himself behind the leaves of religious activities. He attended the prayer meetings, Bible studies, Sunday services, etc., but lacked honesty. He was living a lie in order to win the approval of men. Please do not be consumed by what people say about you as much as what God says about you. God`s evaluation of us is more reliable than man`s. Of course, on an exception, you should be concern when the indictment against you is true and you are not making course correction/repenting.
The Publican, the blatant sinner could not even lift up his head in God`s presence, in contrast to the religious leader, he embraced the truth of his sinfulness and lost status and was accepted by God. He went home justified and pardoned from all of his sins. The religious leaders who took pride in his outward performances went home as lost as he came. God was not pleased with him because he failed to acknowledge the truth about his spiritual condition. Jesus could not establish relationship with Him because at the core of religion is pretense and a system of lies and self-deception masked under the cover of performances. Truth is the bridge that links us to God. It does not matter how terrible a man`s sin is, if he acknowledges his sin and repents and cries to the LORD for mercy, he will be pardoned and saved.
Daddy, please help me to be truthful to you, to myself, and in all of my dealings with my neighbors.
Remain blessed and enjoy a truthful day
