DON’T EXAGGERATE Proverbs 8:6-9
Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say;
I open my lips to speak what is right.
7 My mouth speaks what is true,
for my lips detest wickedness.
8 All the words of my mouth are just;
none of them is crooked or perverse.
9 To the discerning all of them are right;
they are upright to those who have found knowledge.
King Solomon wrote: “Everything I say is right, for I speak the truth and detest every kind of deception. My advice is wholesome. There is nothing devious or crooked in it. My words are plain to anyone with understanding” (vv. 6-9 NLT). We usually embellish the truth in order to get these two things: the attention and the approval of the listener. But eventually, it backfires. Over time, people discover your propensity to stretch the truth, and you lose your credibility with them. And once you lose that, it takes a long time to get it back—if ever. Sweeping statements like “Everybody does it,” or “You never,” or “You always” cause people to discount you and eventually slot you as untrustworthy. It’s okay to say something with enthusiasm but avoid exaggeration. Stick to the facts and resist the urge to be the center of attention by engaging in this form of lying. Joseph’s brothers resented the favor of God that was on his life. So, they threw him into a pit, dipped his coat in blood, then took it back home and showed it to their aging father. They didn’t say a word. They simply let the old man conclude that his son had been devoured by a wild beast. And what’s more, they allowed him to live with that cruel lie for years. Revelation 22:15 says, “Whosoever loveth and maketh a lie” is lumped together with “sorcerers…whoremongers…murderers, and idolaters.” So, unless that’s the company you want to be identified with, tell the whole truth.
PRAYER I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me. 2 Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. Ps 120:1-2
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Today make your prayer, “Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips and…a deceitful tongue” (Ps 120:2 NKJV). Jentezen Franklin