Antidotes to Falsehood

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. Everyone lies to his neighbour; their flattering lips speak with deception (Psalm 12:1,2).

Does it seem to you that Psalm 12 describes our society? People do not expect the truth to be spoken. Trust in leaders and strangers is at an all time low. Many do not even trust their family and friends to speak honestly anymore.

When our politicians make campaign promises we don't really believe them, yet we vote for those who make the biggest promises (which means, the biggest lies).

When CEOs tell us that they care about the factory worker which is being laid off while they deposit their bonuses for streamlining the company, we shrug our shoulders and purchase their merchandise (which we don't really need).

But before we feel superior to leaders in our society consider how Eugene Peterson once described the state of our culture:

"The puzzle is why so many people live so badly. Not so wickedly but so inanely. Not so cruel but so stupidly. There's little to admire and less to imitate in the people who are prominent in our culture. We have celebrities but not saints. Famous entertainers amuse a nation of bored insomniacs. Infamous criminals act out the aggression of timid conformists. Petulant and spoiled athletes play games vicariously for lazy and apathetic spectators. Aimless and bored, people amuse themselves with trivia and trash. Neither the adventure of goodness nor the pursuit of righteousness gets headlines" (Run with the Horses).

How should Christians live in such a treacherous society? First, we need to recognize the state of things, acknowledging that truth telling is not loved around us. This is not a matter in which Christians ought to feel superior, but one in which we ought to test our own hearts, examining how easily we get caught up in lies. We do well to read the story of Balaam in which Israel was easily enticed into sin. Later Moses warns them, “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them” (Deuteronomy 11:16).

Secondly, we ought to join David in his prayer, "Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore…May the Lord cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue" (1 & 3). We will not defeat evil. The enemy is too strong. Rather, we pray that our warrior King will defeat evildoers. We wait for His justice and peace. While we wait, we join in the prayer of the saints, “Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus” (cf. Revelation 22:20).

Thirdly, David says, "The words of the Lord are flawless, like silver..." (6). The antidote to the lying in our society is a delight in the truth which is found in God's Word. Another way of to say this is: we take the same joy in God’s word as that expressed in Psalm 119. Not the most riveting scripture, but deeply needed. God reveals the way to true life. Do we love it?

Let’s join with Jude who ends his letter with this doxology:

To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen (Jude 24,25).