Hebrew Word Study | Skip Moen

Tag-Archive for » commandments «

Whoa!

Thursday, March 11th, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. 1 Corinthians 7:19

What Matters Is – Those who claim that the writing of Paul set aside the Law and proclaim the age of grace tend to read only the first half of this verse. Since circumcision is usually understood as the symbol of Jewish obedience, Paul’s proclamation that it is nothing allows an interpreter to say, “You see, there is no reason for us to keep the Law. It doesn’t mean anything anymore.” Ah, but what do we do about the rest of the verse?

Any good translation will have the phrase “what matters is” in italics or some text that indicates it is not part of the original Greek. The Greek text is alla teresis entolon theou. Literally, this is “but keeping the commandments of God.” The emphatic disjunction is implied. Circumcision doesn’t matter. Uncircumcision doesn’t matter. But. Here the word alla is very strong. There is another word for but in Greek. It is much weaker. This word (alla) comes with force. In other words, Paul draws a hard line between what he has just said and what he will now say. But what matters is keeping the commandment of God.

Whoa! Isn’t circumcision a commandment? How can Paul say that circumcision doesn’t matter and then turn right around and say that what matters is keeping God’s instructions which includes circumcision? Something doesn’t make sense here. Just reading the text without the context will only bring confusion.

Here’s the question we must ask in order to understand what Paul is saying: Who is he writing to? It wasn’t Christians. There were no Christians when Paul wrote to the Gentile Messianic believers in the synagogue in Corinth. There were Jews who believed Yeshua was the Messiah and there were Gentiles who believed that Yeshua was the Messiah. They were worshipping in the same place. What issue could potentially separate them? Ethnic origin.

David Stern writes, “ . . . in God’s Messianic Community, Jews and Gentiles have equal standing before God. On this ethnic ties, cultural expressions, customs and social or religious status have no bearing; in this regard Jewish or Gentile does not matter. What matters is keeping the commandments . . .”[1] In other words, if you are a Gentile and you are not circumcised, so what? You are still accepted before God by grace, grafted into His commonwealth. If you are a Jew and you are circumcised, so what? You are also accepted before God on exactly the same basis – grace. Keeping the commandments is what we do after God brings us into His kingdom. Ethnic ties don’t matter. What matters is what we do once we are there. What matters is the persistent commitment to live according to devotion to Him over the rest of our lives.

Topical Index: commandments, circumcision, 1 Corinthians 7:19

[1] David Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary, p. 456

Category: Today's Word | Tags: 1 Corinthians 7:19, circumcision, commandments | 7 Comments

613

Monday, December 21st, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

“For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.” Deuteronomy 30:11

Commandment – From time to time we have spoken about the 613 mitzvot (commandments) found in the Torah. The actual count might vary a bit but the list complied by Maimonides (in Judaism he is called Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon or Rambam) is the usual place we look to see what these commandments are. You can see all 613 here. But for the moment, I only want to emphasize once again these two points: 1. Most of these are commandments you will quite naturally keep as a follower of YHWH, and 2. Only a portion of the remaining commandments actually apply to any given person. So, don’t be overwhelmed. Don’t be frustrated. And don’t treat them as rules. These are the very aids you need, given by God, for life to become what it was intended to be – a radiant example of living within His care as a beacon to the dark world. If you want to be a priest in His Kingdom, you will need to live according to His plan.

Here are the first ten:

1. To know that G-d exists (Ex. 20:2; Deut. 5:6)

2. Not to entertain the idea that there is any god but the Eternal (Ex. 20:3)

3. Not to blaspheme (Ex. 22:27; in Christian texts, Ex. 22:28), the penalty for which is death (Lev. 24:16) (negative).

4. To hallow G-d’s name (Lev. 22:32)

5. Not to profane G-d’s name (Lev. 22:32)

6. To know that G-d is One, a complete Unity (Deut. 6:4)

7. To love G-d (Deut. 6:5)

8. To fear Him reverently (Deut. 6:13; 10:20)

9. Not to put the word of G-d to the test (Deut. 6:16) (negative).

10. To imitate His good and upright ways (Deut. 28:9)

Any problems? I would think not. Are these too difficult for us? Of course not. We may stumble in practice, but there is nothing here that surprises. These are absolutely basic to being a follower of the one true God. Do you feel better already, knowing that you are keeping some of the Torah commandments? Do you see that classifying these as rules misses the point entirely? These are instructions about the way the world exists, what actually makes up how the world is put together and how it works.

Now, if this is so obvious in the first ten of the 613, why do we choke on excuses and rationalizations when it comes to the remaining 603? Aren’t they also God’s instructions about how the world works, how it was put together and what we must do to honor Him with our way of living? Who gave us the authority to pick and choose which of the 613 apply? If these ten set the stage, when did we decide that the rest were only temporary? Who told you that following the instructions about the nature of the universe was legalism? I would have thought that it was just the smartest thing to do. If God hands you the roadmap of the universe, what makes you think you can arrive at the destination by drawing your own map and following it? So, don’t be afraid of the map. Take a look. You just might find it does what it was intended to do – teach you God’s ways.

Topical Index: mitzvot, commandments, instructions, Torah, 613, Deuteronomy 30:11

Category: Today's Word | Tags: 613, commandments, Deuteronomy 30:11, instructions, mitzvot, Torah | 7 Comments

The Real Purpose-Driven Life

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 | Author: Skip Moen

Observe them faithfully, for that will be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who on hearing all these laws will say, “Surely, that great nation is a wise and discerning people.” Deuteronomy 4:6

Surely – The nations will be amazed. That’s what Moses says about an obedient Israel. “Surely,” is the Hebrew raq. In this context, it announces the wonderful surprise that this tiny nation of Israel has such a close relationship with God that everything it does just seems to be blessed. Now you know the goal of the real purpose-driven live. Moses exhorts the people to keep all the instructions for God’s way of living in order that God may use Israel to attract all the nations of the earth to Him. The purpose-driven life is not about how blessed I will be. It’s about how blessed others will be through me. It’s the lesson of the fruit on a national scale.

There are 613 commandments in the Torah, but if you really inspect them, you will find that a great number of them do not apply to you. Of those that do apply, the majority are clear, moral imperatives required for the existence of any society (for example, not murdering others). Then there are a handful that might not seem to make sense to us today (like diet and clothing) but are still important because God asks us to be His magnets in the world. As Paul says, we who believe in the Messiah are grafted into the commonwealth of Israel. That means we take on the same obligations as any other citizen of God’s government. We live under His constitution and His constitution is the Torah.

So, let’s leave behind that worn-out idea that the reason I serve God is so I will be blessed. Blessings in my life are an accident of on-purpose living and on-purpose living is about reaching the world through God’s involvement with me and my community. Will I be blessed? Of course. That’s the consequence of obedience. Why? Because it is through this blessing that God attracts others. Of course, blessings do not always come in the form that we would like, but they always come in a form God can use. If we focus our attention on the purpose of His blessing instead of the results, then we can understand why sometimes a blind man must be born blind, why a child must die and why a man must hang on the cross. Just like the lesson of the fruit, blessings are designed to pass through you to attract and nourish others.

Why do we keep Torah? First, because God asks us to. He is the King of this kingdom and His will is the law of the land. But secondly, we keep Torah because God promises that our obedience will become the vehicle that brings the lost to Him. We keep Torah for the sake of the lost. It is our guaranteed means of evangelism in the everyday walk of life. It is the basis of the Great Commission – “as you are going, disciple”. As you are walking according to God’s instructions, He will bring you into contact with those who will look at your life and say, “Something wonderful is happening here. Tell me about it.”

Topical Index: Torah, commandments, purpose, Deuteronomy 4:6, evangelism, raq

Category: Today's Word | Tags: commandments, Deuteronomy 4:6, evangelism, purpose, raq, Torah | 11 Comments

How Old?

Monday, April 21st, 2008 | Author: Skip Moen

Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; 1 John 2:7

Old – Just how old is John’s “old commandment”? Does John start counting with the teaching of Jesus, or does his reckoning begin earlier than that? Does John think that Jesus’ commandment, “Love one another,” is the beginning of a new way of living, or does John see a much longer history?

If you listen to most Christians today, you would surmise that John’s “old commandment” was introduced about sixty years before he wrote this sentence. Most Christians seem to think that Jesus introduced new material and that we are now to live according to this new information. But John uses a Greek word, palaios, that means “long standing,” not “antiquated.” What would we think if we realized that everything Jesus taught started in Genesis, not Matthew? Then the “old commandment” takes on a different look, doesn’t it?

Consider this: If Jesus is God, then the message that He brings while He is in human form is going to be consistent with the same message He provided before the incarnation. How could it be any different? God does not change His mind about the means of redemption, does He? He does not alter His will about how the righteous shall live, does He? So, Jesus’ teaching must be in alignment with the will of the Father from the beginning. After all, don’t even the new testament writers tell us that the Messiah was slain before the foundations of the world? That means that Jesus is providing corrective commentary on the proper understanding of God’s will. In other words, God in human form is clarifying and demonstrating what God as spirit has always taught. If Jesus is God, then there is no better person to tell us exactly what the Father meant.

Of course, when we really look at the teaching of Jesus, we discover that it all comes from the Old Testament. How could it be any other way? Jesus is Jewish. His sacred Scriptures are the scriptures of the Hebrew Bible. His culture, religious experience and thought forms are Hebrew. Jesus is the Old Testament man. That means that if we want to understand the old commandments, we need to pay close attention to what Jesus says about them. That’s the equivalent of reading God’s commentary on God’s word. When John says that he is not writing a new commandment, he excludes any human addition to God’s will. No man can add to the work or word of God. Instead, John wants us to look back – way back – to the will of God found in the commandments we have had from the beginning. So, my friends, it’s back to Genesis. If you want to know what Jesus said, and why He said it, you will have to start at the beginning.

How old is the commandment that you follow?

Topical Index: Commandments

Category: Today's Word | Tags: commandments, John 2:7 | Leave a Comment

Houses of God

Saturday, March 08th, 2008 | Author: Skip Moen

and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates Deuteronomy 6:9

Doorposts – Come with me to Haiti and you will see something puzzling on some houses. Painted on the mud walls are strange symbols and designs (You can see a photo in my Haiti collection here). These are not mural artist’s decorations. They are signs to ward off evil spirits. They are markings that indicate which god the owner of the house serves. The same thing happened centuries ago in Egypt. In order to have the protection of a god, the householder marked his residence with the god’s sign. So, when Israel became a nation wholly devoted to the Lord, He instructed them to do something they would find very familiar. Mark your house with the name of the Lord. All who reside in the house belong to Him. The Hebrew word mezuzah became so important to the children of Israel that to this day an orthodox family marks the house with God’s sign. In order to understand the full impact of this symbolic depiction, all you have to do is read this ancient inscription concerning evil spirits: “No door can shut them out, no bolt can turn them back, through the door like a snake they slide, through the hinge like a wind they blow.” God has just defeated all the false gods and spirits of Egypt. Now He tells Israel to put His mark of protection and ownership over their homes. They knew exactly what that meant!

Of course, there is more than protection involved in the mezuzah. One rabbi said this when the Romans came to arrest him: “In the case of the Holy One, his servants dwell within, while He stands guard over them from without.” The mezuzah is a symbol of protection and ownership.

We have something to learn from this ancient commandment. Did you notice that it is a commandment? For God’s children, designating ownership is not optional. Of course, we no longer live in cultures where we ward off evil spirits with human markings (unless, of course, you venture into many foreign countries like Haiti and China). We think we are beyond all that tribal religion. We’re more sophisticated. I wonder if God views us in the same way. It seems to me that the issue of ownership is at the very core of our “sophisticated” worldview. It seems to me that a visible reminder of God’s sovereignty over me and all that I have becomes more and more important in a world that asserts I have a right to do as I please with my possessions. A worldview built on entitlement is on the verge of serious collapse. What did Paul say? “They did not honor Him as God, or give thanks.” Perhaps we need the mezuzah to remind us that all that we have is a gift from above. Perhaps we would see a change in attitude if we acknowledged the truth on the doorpost every time we went in and out of the house.

The mezuzah provides one other important piece of information. It tells the visitor where I stand. It is an observable mark of my relationship to God. That matters. In a world where religious conviction is pushed into the recesses of private, inner experience, perhaps we need to make an observable statement to the community. Do you think your attitude and expectations would be different if you visited a home with a mezuzah at the door? Wouldn’t you know instantly that this home honors the Torah, that these people serve the living God and that they aren’t afraid to demonstrate their obedience? When someone visits your home today, how do they know which god you serve?

Topical Index: Commandments, Doorposts

Category: Today's Word | Tags: commandments, Deuteronomy 6:9, Doorposts | Leave a Comment

The End In Mind

Wednesday, March 05th, 2008 | Author: Skip Moen

“Oh, that there were a heart like this in them, to fear Me, and to keep all My commandments all the days, that it might be well with them, and with their sons forever.” Deuteronomy 5:29

Be Well – “All things work together for good.” Paul said that. He believed it. Do we?

I’m pretty sure that we sometimes doubt Paul’s statement (we’ll have to take a closer look at exactly what he says). But Paul is only echoing what God said in Deuteronomy. God desires our best. He is determined to bring about the best for us in and through His good purposes. God always starts what He finishes (better read that again). God’s purposes are always based in the eschatological perspective. In other words, unlike us, He actually knows where He’s going before He begins. Therefore, He only starts those things which will ultimately bring about the end He desires.

Let’s apply this to our lives. From the Hebrew perspective (and Paul was a Hebrew), no man knows the end from the beginning. You and I are not intelligent enough, righteous enough or powerful enough to know how life will turn out. With but a moment’s reflection, you can see just how true this is. My guess is that twenty years ago you could never have imagined all the twists and turns your life has taken. The simple fact is that you are not God, so, of course you don’t have a clue. Nevertheless (and this is a big one), all of us imagine we are in charge. Therefore, we act according to our view of life. That’s really the essence of sin – pretending that we know better than God what’s good for us, and acting accordingly. God’s heart agonizes over such shortsighted arrogance. Why? Because our eschatological blinders prevent the real good from manifesting itself in our lives.

The reason God gives us specific directions about how to live (the commandments) is not because God wants to put His divine thumb on us and force us to do His will. He gives us directions so that yatav may manifest itself in us. Yatav is that great Hebrew word that means “to be good, to be well, to be pleasing.” God wants you to have a full, glorious, satisfying, wholesome life. Like any parent, He wants His children to have joy and peace and prosperity. So, He is more than willing to tell us how to live in a world that is filled with danger and difficulty. God always starts what He finishes. He invites you to the finish line with Him, and then He tells you where the race starts.

Sin is simply not trusting that God has your best interest in mind. Sin is simply doing it your way. And, of course, sin has its own built-in consequences. When you sin, you can’t finish because you didn’t start in the right place.

Sometime today the world will present you with the opportunity to take charge of your life. It will whisper to you, “You need to take care of yourself here.” It probably won’t come in the form of an outright moral conflict. It will be the subtle suggestion that you know what you’re doing. That’s the moment when you need to recall God’s commandments. You don’t know what you’re doing! You can’t see the finish line. Listen to the One Who does. Start what He finishes.

Topical Index: Commandments, Finish

Category: Today's Word | Tags: commandments, Deuteronomy 5:29, finish | Leave a Comment

Basic Arithmetic

Sunday, February 24th, 2008 | Author: Skip Moen

24 You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Deuteronomy 4:2

Add / Take Away – Do you think that God is serious when He says we are not to add or subtract anything from His commandments? The Hebrew verb for “add” is yasaf. It is used to describe increasing, repeating, continuing and enhancing actions. So, Israel’s sins are piled one on another and her guilt is increased. The Lord added sons to Jacob and Rachel. Solomon increased the tax burden on the people. It’s pretty easy to understand the meaning of yasaf. Since that’s the case, I wonder why we don’t seem to pay any attention to it.

Do we add to God’s commandments? Well, we might start by asking if we increase or enhance the requirements. For example, a society that expects and awards massive punitive damages certainly adds to God’s civil justice. We do the same thing in the church, adding tradition to church governance and requirements. That pushes us in the direction of legalism. Just think about all the behavioral rules that govern your life. How many of them are really grounded in Scripture? How many of them are extensions or additions? Does God command you to go to church every Sunday? Does He obligate you to give the tithe to the local church? Does He compel you to wear specific clothing, speak with particular phrases or use certain prayers? Does He regulate your social contacts or your choice of career? We really need to know; but my guess is that most of us have never looked closely to see what God says and what He doesn’t say.

On the other hand, God is just as concerned about taking away from His word. Here the Hebrew is gara, a verb that means “to diminish, to reduce, to remove and to cut short.” We’re much better at subtraction than addition. That’s because reducing and diminishing God’s word doesn’t require so much investigation. All we have to do is do what we want. For example, God commands us to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. Hard to get around that, isn’t it? Pretty black and white. When did we decide as Christians that God really didn’t mean what He says? Do you suppose that happened when it became inconvenient? After all, do we really think God actually cares what we do after church on Sunday? If we don’t understand what God means, subtraction is pretty easy. Of course, the great Christian excuse is this: these laws were only for Jews. We have so saturated our theology with grace and forgiveness that it has become the perfect excuse to do whatever seems morally correct. So, in spite of the fact that God says the Feast of Unleavened Bread is to be kept forever, I rather doubt that any contemporary Christian has ever participated nor even imagines he or she ever will. There’s something wrong here. God is not interested in moral correctness. He is interested in obedience.

Living according to God’s Word is dangerous. It’s dangerous because it demands a razor-sharp understanding of God’s freedom in the midst of human structure. God is neither legalistic or antinomian. Rules do not make a relationship with Him. Neither does the denial of rules. You and I have to walk on the edge of the blade if we are going to serve our Master according to His desires. If you’re not sure about adding or subtracting, maybe you need to get back to first grade and start over. It’s not what’s “right” that matters. It’s what He requires.

Topical Index: Commandments

Category: Today's Word | Tags: commandments, Deuteronomy 4:2 | Leave a Comment

Elective Surgery

Saturday, February 23rd, 2008 | Author: Skip Moen

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Deuteronomy 5:21

Covet / Desire – Heart surgery is a really bloody operation. No matter how well prepared we are, it’s dangerous, painful and life threatening. God’s operation to bring about a new heart with the right attitude vocabulary is no less difficult. The old heart has been pumping those desires into your bloodstream for a long time. It’s addicted to the lust-rush. Withdrawal is not easy. But you’ll die unless you go under the knife.

If you could simply retire to a nice, quiet hospital, well-equipped with the best technology, your chances of survival would be greatly increased. But God does His surgical heart transplants on the battlefield. Paul describes the triage center very well. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Cor. 10:3-5). Did you understand? Weapons based in commonsense warfare are useless in this fight. Self-help regimens, external restraints, venue changes and protective mantras are ineffective. You are at war with yourself, and until the enemy is destroyed, the war will never end. The battleground is beyond the range of any instrument of the world’s arsenal. If God doesn’t wage war with you and in you, defeat is inevitable.

“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” says Paul. Anyone who has tried to deal with the inner monsters of desire knows how true this is. It is by God’s grace that Paul quickly adds, “for it is God who is at work in you.” Without Him, the battle is lost. Fortunately, God’s armory is equipped for just such warfare. Fortunately, Paul is not Greek, for although he implores us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, he takes a decidedly Hebrew approach to this task.

That means that actions come before words and deeds come before thoughts. I don’t control my mind by thinking about it. The “fight-fire-with-fire” mentality only burns everyone. I obey the tenth commandment by acting with benevolence toward my neighbor at cost to myself. I put into play the very opposite of what my unbridled thoughts suggest. Do I desire to use someone for my own satisfaction? At the moment I realize this, I begin to pray for God’s grace and well-being to flood that life. If I can act with mercy and compassion toward that person, I do so. Do I lust for my neighbor’s house? I go buy him something he needs to make it more beautiful. Do I crave his car? I volunteer to caringly wash it for him. Am I envious of his job? I find some loving way to congratulate him on his success. In other words, I act against my own grain, serving my neighbor in proportion to my coveting. And God does the surgery.

The tenth commandment is not an exercise in mental gymnastic control. It is a call to action. Try it. You might be surprised.

Topical Index: Commandments, Covet

Category: Today's Word | Tags: commandments, covet, Deuteronomy 5:21 | Leave a Comment

Attitude Vocabulary

Friday, February 22nd, 2008 | Author: Skip Moen

Covet / Desire – The seat of action is the attitude of the heart. So, it’s not surprising at all that the last of the commandments points inward. All of those outward behavioral issues (lying, stealing, adultery, dishonoring, idolatry) begin with inner corruption. That’s where the root problem lies and that’s where it must be confronted. You see, God is ultimately not interested in compliance. He is interested in commitment. That’s why God hardly ever exercises de jure authority (the authority He has by divine right of creation – the authority of power). God usually (thankfully) exercises de facto authority. That’s the authority given back to Him when I recognize that it is my duty to serve Him because He is God. This is volunteer commitment, not power-based compliance. So, the two words here, hamad and ‘awah, focus on my attitude vocabulary, my inner motivation. If my heart is in the right place, I will never break this commandment. If it’s not, I will break this commandment without lifting a finger.

Does this seem like an incredibly impossible commandment? I can control my outward actions. I can not steal, not lie, not commit adultery, not dishonor God or my parents. That’s a matter of discipline. But now God is commanding me to control my thoughts! Are you kidding? How is that possible? What am I supposed to do when I see an attractive person or an enticing possession? How am I supposed to rein in my desire for success or housing or anything else that someone else has? Does God really expect me to exercise mind-control? The answer is “Yes.” Do you remember that God says that His commandments are not too difficult for us to do? So, how did we get into the place where we think that our thoughts are beyond the reach of the spiritual harness?

Perhaps it started with the separation of the mind (reason) from the body (action). Perhaps it’s because our Greek-based rational world views emotions as wildly uncontrollable (so, we fall in love, etc.). Perhaps it’s because in the world where reason is seen as the criterion of human being, we allow the mind to have free rein of thought as if that were a virtue in itself. No matter where the philosophical beginnings, the result is ominous from God’s point of view. The very fact that God gave the tenth commandment means that we are responsible for our thoughts and that they can be brought under the government of God. What else could Paul have meant when he said to bring every thought captive? What else could it mean for God to promise to give us the desires of our hearts? Does that mean we get whatever our unbridled lust wishes? God forbid! It means that as we put our will, mind, emotions and choices under His direction, He replaces those desires that break the commandment with desires that come from Him. The tenth commandment is impossible without a heart transplant. In God’s world, heart transplants are elective surgery. Are you ready to go under the knife?

Topical Index: Commandments, Covet

Category: Today's Word | Tags: commandments, covet, Deuteronomy 5:21 | Leave a Comment

Hitch-hiker

Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 | Author: Skip Moen

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor Deuteronomy 5:20

False – It’s court language, but it’s not limited to trials. The word picture recalls the witness stand. “Do you swear to tell the truth?” The answer better be “Yes.” In front of the judge and jury, we want true testimony. So does God. But His reasons for demanding the truth are not always the same as ours.

We look for justice. We want satisfaction. God has a much deeper concern in mind. Lying disturbs the nature of the universe. Why? Because God is truth and whatever circumvents, diminishes or deflects truth attacks His very character. The universe reflects the glory of God, says the psalmist. Lying in any form damages that glory, and God will not put up with it.

Once we see the Hebrew word, shaw, we understand the hideous nature of lying. The word is not just about circumventing the truth. This is a word that also means emptiness, vanity, evil, ruin, worthlessness and uselessness. Lying fits all of those categories. It constructs a fictitious universe, a world where there is no reliability and no consistency. No wonder God tells us that He hates lying (Proverbs 6:19). Everything that results from lies stands in utter opposition to the character of God.

Take another look at the meanings of shaw. Did you notice how many are associated with actions, not just words? Did you see how shaw is rooted in the practical, not just the linguistic? Worthless, useless, empty and vane – lying gets you exactly nothing. It moves you in the opposite direction from life itself. It sucks the blood out of relationships and drains the world of meaning. Lying is a step toward chaos and away from the God of order.

It’s popular to suggest that life requires little white lies. After all, just shading the truth a bit here and there seems to ease things along. Transparency and brutal honesty are not virtues in a Greek-based world of image management. It’s far easier to side-step the conflict with a tiny, little lie. But now you see why even the whitest of white lies comes from the blackest pit of hell. Every lie moves me away from the living God. That means it removes me from my own real life. No matter how “justifiable”, a lie attacks the glory of the Creator and the handiwork of His image in me. Lies send me right back to the second verse of the Bible, when the world was without form and void.

The choice is yours. Lies always stand at one-way streets waiting for a ride. You can stop and pick them up, but you will have to travel toward the dark if you do. Or, you can see them for what they are – and turn around.

Topical Index: Commandments, Lying

Category: Today's Word | Tags: commandments, Deuteronomy 5:20, Lying | Leave a Comment