October 27 Save the Glaze for the Bunny

Like a coating of glaze over earthenware are fervent lips of an evil heart. A malicious man disguises himself with his lips. But in his heart, he harbors deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it. If a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him. ~Proverbs 26:23-28

For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain. Even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth. To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupt. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. ~Titus 1:10-16

A story from Kathy: I remember making pottery in elementary art class. I can remember working with that ooey, gooey clay and trying to make it into, something. I never could figure out how to get my thumb prints out of it. Anyway, after that messy making, you had to let it sit for what seemed like, forever, and then the teacher would announce that it was time to bake it. Oh, goody.

So, the thing got baked and it was handed back to us and it looked, very unimpressive. It was all one color, kind of grayish white and it was rough to the touch, and it really didn’t look like anything that was worth keeping. After all that mess, and waiting, it was easy to wonder what the point was. Then, the teacher would announce, “Today, we’re going to glaze your work!” Art teachers are always so excited about this stuff.

So, we would choose glaze, except that the glaze itself wasn’t very spectacular either. The label would list a color, say, “blue,” but trust me, it didn’t look blue. Nevertheless, if you wanted your creation to be blue, you trusted the teacher and painted it on. Then, the teacher would say, “First it has to dry again and then we have to bake it again.” Okay! If you say so. Then, next week, (we only had art once a week), wow, there was a blue bunny waiting for me, thumb prints and all and it was blue and smooth and, wow! The glaze was the finish that the work needed.

  Kathy's Blue bunny from Second grade.

Unfortunately, having one’s words compared to glaze on pottery isn’t as much of a compliment to speech as the glaze proved to be to Kathy’s blue bunny. Glaze on clay creates a smooth polish to a finished product. And similar to clay, the core of deceptive speech really is just as good as a lump of mud! Glaze applied to words can create a smooth, polished speech that can be very attractive, yet full of deceit. Its smooth surface can be a slippery as ice, with similar results for those who put their trust in them, both the speaker and listener.

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when once we practice to deceive.” Notice that the lips of one who has, glazed, speech are fervent. That means that they are willing to work very hard to convince you to believe them. “If something sounds too good to be true…” There is often a bit of natural hesitation toward the slick used car sales type person, but if you have what they want, they are willing to put in the effort until you are convinced and brought under their control.

“A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart, he harbors deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart.” Peter warns: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, stand firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters around the world are undergoing the same sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

James advises: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7B) Satan is the slickest deceiver of them all. If only Eve had taken this advice and fled, rather than staying to consider the possibilities. However, her battle is still ours today. We are constantly being challenged to discern God’s wisdom from the lies spewed by the father of lies, through those who are deceived by him around us.

That’s why James goes on to advise: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8) The closer we stay to Him, the closer we stay to the light from Him. The closer we are to Him, the brighter His light becomes and the easier it is to see His truth through the deceptions that we face. “For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.”

Even in the church, we must stay close to God and be on our guard against false teaching. In Paul’s case, he was speaking out against those who were teaching that the Gentiles had to become circumcised and take on all the Jewish traditions if they wanted to be a true Christian. However, that hasn’t been the last deception that has been found in the church that causes divisions and walls, as we talked about yesterday. This is where staying focused on God’s Word and prayer with one another becomes so important. It’s hard to be deceived when, as a group, we are basking in the light of His truth.

“If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it. If a man rolls a stone, it will roll back on him.” Or even better, the pit that satan has dug, he himself will be thrown into and the stones that he has tried to throw at God’s children, will be returned upon himself. Remember the fluttering curse from yesterday and God’s force field of protection? Even Jesus enjoyed this protection. How many times did Jesus Himself slip away because His time had not yet come?

For us, it is the same protection, but, as I keep repeating, evil will be dealt with. It will come to an end. We do have this hope which is an assurance of what we do not yet see, (Hebrews 11:1), but it will be. God has promised. Stay in His light. Stay in His Word. Stay in His truth and know the deceptions for what they are, the lies from the father of lies who will not succeed.

Prayer: Father, thanks again for protection from deception and temptation if I stay close to Your word and meditate on Your wisdom. Help me shine the light of Your Truth so that others also see the light and come to Jesus. In His name, amen.

Song: A Love for Truth