Thursday, August 20
A false witness will not go unpunished, and a liar will not
escape.
—Proverbs 19:9
We may find ourselves in a situation we had not expected,
or we discover that someone is out to get us, or we're suddenly called upon
to explain our unsatisfactory actions. Before we even consider the effects
of our words, we spill out a lie, since we don't know how else to keep
ourselves out of trouble. As soon as the lie is spoken in real-time, there
is an immediate inner relaxation—as if we have staved off a disaster.
We soon find, however, that our relief is illusory. The very escape we
thought we felt becomes our concrete prison. The punishment we
experience comes not from God, but from our own scratched
souls. Our lies blacken us in the same way that pavement is
blackened from a skid mark left behind a screeching tire.
Life will
always surprise us with circumstances that make us vulnerable. We will make
mistakes we want to cover up. We will want to get back at someone who has
hurt us. We will want to obtain things that are just out of our reach. We
will feel vulnerable to attack by others.
False words will scream to spill out. Yet we always have the choice to forsake the false word in order to speak the true word. When we choose the true word, we may be astonished to find that what had seemed so fearful is made easier, because God takes our hand and fills our heart with courage.
Gracious God, when a lie sits on my tongue ready to pounce, let me feel the presence of your Spirit leading me to truth.
