Duplicity
Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts. — Psalm 12:2A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin. — Prov. 26:28
Any regular readers here know that I have at times pulled the plug on a comment stream, and it isn’t always easy to explain why I feel the need to do so. Of course some would say I just can’t handle disagreement, but that particular shoe fits on both feet, so to speak. I have yet to see anyone who has made such a charge react any better when they must swallow their own medicine.
But sometimes the best way to get something across is by way of example. Here are some quotes by one individual, with references, one of which is from this blog.
(source) Christiane said... … I miss Paula too. I wish she would come back… Tue Sep 08, 11:57:00 AM 2009It all sounds so nice, so genuine. Then we see this:
(source) Christiane August 13, 2009 at 11:25 am | #3 Quote
Hi DEBBIE, ...Love, L’s P.S. Am worried for Paula and don’t know how to help make things better. Can you help?
(source)Very interesting, to say the least. But I hope at least that it helps in explaining why I don’t buy every item people try to sell me, why I “shake the dust from my feet” at times, and why I so strongly emphasize the need for BOTH truth and spirit. But in this example we see that the “spirit” was disingenuous. What appeared to be light was darkness; what appeared to be loving concern was slanderous and hateful hypocrisy.Christiane says: October 23, 2009 at 4:31 pm We had one commenting on a blog who got mad when Jimmy Carter was called a Chrisitan man. She was irate and left the blog. Her own blog is filled with all the hatred you could possibly want to avoid, and she proudly says that people will ‘reject’ her because she ’speaks the truth’. Bizarre does not even begin to describe her blog. And she has her followers, one of whom has said she does not believe in following a conscience. But what is it that causes someone to be like that? I know it is not ‘normal’. What on earth is wrong? There is always a cause. It’s strange, to say the least. Can you imagine innocent children coming to the door of such a person on Holloween night? Now that IS SCARY !
I could certainly challenge every claim in that last quote, but my point today is that there are good reasons to keep some people at a distance, especially those who refuse to say what saving faith actually is. If we are so ashamed of our crucified and risen Savior as to call “brothers and sisters” those who “climb in over the wall” (John 10:1), then we have become tasteless salt and worthless light (Mt. 5:13-16).
We all need to take a hard look at how we talk about others behind their backs. But all I’m asking right now is for people to cut me a little slack when I sense danger. In this one instance we have evidence to confirm my earlier suspicions, but this will not always be the case.
We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. — 1 John 4:6