06.01.12
Proverbs 21.28 28 A false witness will perish, but the
man who listens to the truth will speak forever.
It is one thing to listen to the truth of God’s word; it
is another thing altogether to act upon what one hears. I cannot help thinking
about my life and conduct when I read the Proverbs. And then, when I read
passages like Romans 13, I wonder, how am I doing at all this stuff? Life in
Christ is not about performance but it is about obedience, and conduct reveals
who I am inside.
When Paul says, Therefore
let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
(Romans 13.12) how am I doing at that? Do I just read this verse, give it
mental ascent, and keep right on living my life as I please, or do I stop and
say, how am I doing at all that? When
I am exhorted to behave properly as in
the day, (v. 13) am I behaving properly, or doing just enough to keep from
rocking the boat too many times? And when Paul says, But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh
in regard to its lusts. (v.14) Am I doing that?
The Proverb says the
man who listens to the truth will speak forever. Forever is a long time.
The opposite is true as well: a false
witness will perish. He may not perish today, or even tomorrow; but he will
perish. Living falsely is kinda like a slow suicide.
In what I do for a living, I offer people a chance to
have their voice heard. I present them with an opportunity join an organization
that advocates for them and makes their wishes known. Some want to join and are
enthusiastic about participating. Others are convinced but won’t join. Some are
so cynical that they just can’t see that anything at all can be done to change
the way things are: these are comfortable in their cynicism, wishfully thinking
that the whole nightmare will somehow go away and things will someday get
better.
Every day, the Bible offers us an opportunity to have our
voice heard: the man who listens to the truth
will speak forever. But listening in this instance is not only hearing but
also doing. The man who listens (actively) to the truth (and lives his life
accordingly) will speak forever. Hearing is one thing: hearing and acting is
another.
I have lived far too many days listening to the truth
with my head and doing nothing (or little) with it in my heart. This cannot
continue. It may be uncomfortable, it may be difficult, but as Paul urged us
(me) put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. That is something I
must actively do if I want to live and speak.
One other little nugget today: He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of
conduct will die. (Proverbs 19.16) Am I active in listening and living or
am I careless of [my] conduct? It’s not a case of earning brownie points; it’s listening
and living for the truth because I am (supposedly) heading to a Realm of truth
where no falsehood is ever allowed: he
who keeps the commandment keeps (watch) over his soul. A soul-keeping
person is a person who actively listens to the truth and cares about his
conduct, his witness, and his destination. What am I doing, and how is what I
am doing affecting where I am going? Just saying.
1 comment:
Pro 21:28
Here is, 1. The doom of a false witness. He who, for favour to one side or malice to the other, gives in a false evidence, or makes an affidavit of that which he knows to be false, or at least does not know to be true, if it be discovered, his reputation will be ruined. A man may tell a lie perhaps in his haste; but he that gives a false testimony does it with deliberation and solemnity, and it cannot but be a presumptuous sin, and a forfeiture of man’s credit. But, though he should not be discovered, he himself shall be ruined; the vengeance he imprecated upon himself, when he took the false oath, will come upon him. 2. The praise of him that is conscientious: He who hears (that is, obeys) the command of God, which is to speak every man truth with his neighbour, he who testifies nothing but what he has heard and knows to be true, speaks constantly (that is, consistently with himself); he is always in the same story; he speaks in finem—to the end; people will give credit to him and hear him out; he speaks unto victory; he carries the cause, which the false witness shall lose; he shall speak to eternity. What is true is true eternally. The lip of truth is established for ever.
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