My Hope Is In The Truth

True, False Road SignA dear brother-in-Christ of mine is running for public office and his good name is being smeared by his opponent. What is truly sad is his opponent claims to be a Christian conservative, and yet is knowingly lying about my friend. This is after he has been called on his lie by factcheck.org and my friend has clearly disputed the charges with detailed facts. Karen and I had to sit through these libelous ads against our friend while watching the World Series.

As I went to bed, the Lord comforted me with His truth found only in His Word:

    “Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart, he who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend…” (Psalm 15:1-3)

David knew a lot about having his character smeared by those who were supposed to be his friends and neighbors, and yet David rested in the fact that he was a righteous man. David knew that only the righteous will be with the Lord in heaven and that eventually those who lie will be punished.

    “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” (Psalm 5:4-6)

My friend’s opponent would do well to heed the warning of David and repent of his falsehoods. I will pray that he does more so for his soul than for my friend’s reputation. My friend is a strong and devout Christian, surrounded by a loving family and friends who know him and will stand by him through thick and thin. He will be just fine. But it does hurt to have such dishonorable things said against you. But more importantly, my friend is steeped in the truth of God’s Word and I know he takes great solace in it:

    “My soul melts from heaviness; strengthen me according to Your word. Remove from me the way of lying, and grant me Your law graciously. I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me. I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord, do not put me to shame! I will run the course of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart.” (Psalm 119:28-32)

My friend’s opponent needs to come to the understanding of the destruction to his soul that will come from his spreading such lies. It is one thing to play political hardball, but it is quite another to brazenly use deceit for the sake of a few votes.

    “He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.” (Psalm 101:7-8)

The Bible puts a great deal of worth in the aletheia truth. It is considered a precious commodity and in this day and age in which we live, it is a rare one.

    “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches…The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver… Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold!” (Psalm 119:14, 72, 127)

The lesson to be learned in all of this is as Christians we are called to be defenders of the truth, protecting ourselves and those around us from the shame of being exposed as a liar.

    “Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and, ‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.’” (2 Timothy 2:14-19)

If the voters end up voting for my friend’s opponent because of his libelous ad, then when the truth finally comes out it will be to their shame, “to the ruin of the hearers.” We must always be careful of how we speak because our words can have a far-reaching and long-lasting effect and it is to our demise if we speak falsely.

Nevertheless, like David, my friend can rest in the truth. As I look around this country and see such deceit from our leaders it would be easy to succumb to hopelessness. However, my hope is in the truth and on the truth I shall stand.

I pray you will join me.

(If you would like to help my friend’s campaign, please email me and I will point you in the right direction. I know that he would covet your prayers for him and his family. Pray the Lord refreshes and strengthens them and that they never lose sight of the promise found in Matthew 5:11-12. Pray also for his opponent that the Lord would either bring him to willful repentance or broken obedience to correct his lies.)

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2013 David Jeffers

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