Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Foolish Fibs | The Writings | Proverbs 12

Episode Date: October 3, 2024

Are you a liar? If not, you might be lying to yourself. In today's episode, Patrick shares how Proverbs 12 reveals the foolishness of lying lips. Read the Bible with us in 2024! This year, we’re tackling a group of Old Testament books traditionally known as “The Writings”— Psalms, Chronicles, Proverbs, Daniel, Ruth and more! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Proverbs 12

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Patrick Miller. My son is going through a bit of a phase right now, a lying phase. For no apparent reason, he tells fib after fib, and he doesn't even care if it's obvious or not that he's lying. For example, the other day, he was kicking a cabinet while I was eating breakfast, and so I asked him to stop kicking the cabinet. And he says to me, with a straight face, while kicking it, I'm not kicking it. Yes, you are, I responded. No, I'm not. That's not me, he told me. So we've been having a lot of

conversations about trust and honesty. And there's nothing surprising about any of this. He's only five years old. And as the proverb say, folly is wrapped up in the heart of a child. In a similar way, English speakers will call someone acting foolishly childishly. So that means that us adults, we never act childishly, right? Adults never lie to protect their reputation, to cover up a wrongdoing, to hide a painful truth, to take credit for something they didn't do, to win an argument, to look good. Or maybe you're telling yourself, I never lie. Well, you might actually be lying to yourself. Just to ask yourself this question, do you ever withhold the truth to misrepresent reality? Sure, maybe you never say falsehoods, but by never saying what really happened, by not giving

the whole truth about where you really were, what you were really doing, well, you can give people an impression that is false intentionally, which is a lie. In Proverbs 1215, we read, The way of the fool seems right to them, but the wise listens to advice. It's true, isn't it? When we lie, our lie makes sense to us. We have a reason for it, whether it's a big lie or a small lie, whether it's an out-and-out falsehood or just withholding a pertinent truth. Our way seems right to us, and the author of Proverbs wants you to listen to his advice when your way seems right. Verse 17. An honest witness tells the truth, but a false witness tells lies. The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue

of the wise brings healing. Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy. Verse 22 continues, The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. The prudent keep knowledge to themselves, but a fool's heart blurts out folly. So let's peace all this wisdom together. But what is the wise man saying about lying? He's saying that lying makes us false witnesses, which means that we break the Ninth Commandment and we spit on God's covenant. He says that lies pierce like swords, they cut, they hurt others. He says that a lying tongue perishes. It may briefly accomplish what it sets out to do, but eventually all lies are found out, and sometimes

that leads literally to the death of the speaker, or to the destruction of that speaker's reputation. He says that lies make us impulsive fools. The more we tell them, the easier they get, and the more trouble we create. He says that the Lord detest lying lips. So ask yourself, is that white lie really no small thing? Is that little withholding of the truth really no small thing? Do I want to be known as someone whose words break God's law? Do I want to make God detest my own mouth?

Do I want to lead myself to destruction on a road paved with my own lies? That is the lie of every single lie, that by saying the lie, we preserve ourselves, we preserve our comfort, we preserve our peace. And the lie may give what it promises for a time, but eventually our lies catch up to us. If not in this life, then in the life to come. But the wise man doesn't just want us to see the ugliness of lying. He also wants us to see the beauty of the truth. So what does he say about truth-telling? Well, when we speak truth, we become honest witnesses, he says. An honest witness is someone who upholds God's justice and righteousness. This is someone who is capable of bringing God's goodness

to earth. The wise man says a honest man's words also bring healing. Does your tongue heal your sins because you're truthful about them? Or does your tongue protect your sins? Does your tongue heal the hearts of others around you by being honest? Or does your tongue cut into them with lies? An honest tongue is perhaps the strongest medicine we have against sin and the strongest tool we have in pursuing the good of others. The wise man says that truthful lips endure forever and that truth speakers have joy. When we speak truth, we build towards eternity. When we speak truth, although it may be painful for a moment, we experience joy. We experience the joy of freedom, the joy of honesty, the joy of not hiding, the joy of living fully and wholly in the life.

light. And that is what eternity will be like. A place where there is no darkness, where there is no deceit, a place where there is only light and truth. If we find honesty in the present life impossible and unattractive, then will we really find honesty attractive in the future? The wise man says that God delights in people who are trustworthy. What greater treasure is there than that? Then knowing that your king, your savior, takes profound delight in you and your words, that your father smiles on your speech and says, I'm so proud of my son. He says the true thing even when it hurts.

He says, I'm so proud of my daughter, she doesn't hide the truth to lead others astray. God loves honesty because he is honest. Because honesty is truly the only path to healing from sin, and once healed it is the path to wholeness. Honesty is the only way to live a seamless life where there's not a secret life we're lying about over here and a public life that everybody else sees. So will you trust in your own wisdom?

Will you walk in childishness? Or will you embrace the path of total honesty before God and others? The path that begins with confession. Honest confession to God and honest confession to others, even those we've lied to. And this isn't a one-time deal. We have to confess honestly again and again and again. because honesty requires us to do so. And as we confess, we find healing and restoration from the spirit of truth and truth-speaking,

who works through truth to set us free.