Living Among Liars
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Introduction
Introduction
Liar is a strong word, isn’t it? I tend to speak in hyperbole which means I can make exaggerated statements that I don’t mean to be taken literally. If you don’t realize I have a tendency to use exaggerated words at time, you may misunderstand me.
God blessed me with a wife who has a greater sensitivity to my use of hyperbole than I do. She will at times tell me that I should choose a different word, one that doesn’t sound so extreme.
If I had asked her, she might have suggested a different title for this message. Living among Liars sound pretty bad doesn’t it? It sounds exaggerated. Why is that?
It's because the word liar is black-and-white. If you call someone a liar, there is no room for misunderstanding. Is there a nice way to say a person is a liar? Sure, there are lots of ways. One might say,
"He wasn't completely truthful."
"She fibbed a little."
"It was just a white lie."
“Oh, I misspoke.”
What have I left out? What's a nice way to say that someone lied? [Get responses from the audience.]
One of the reasons why we don't want to be so harsh in our communication is because of our concern for people and what they think. It is good to be concerned about what people think and not unnecessarily offend them. The key word there is "unnecessarily". There are times when we have to face the reality that a person's behavior is offensive. When we try to lessen the severity of offensive behavior, we end up turning our attention away from the offensive issue and not dealing with it.
Today we are going to be looking at Psalm 120 that is all about a person living among liars. This is a short Psalm so let's just read it.
1 I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me.
2 Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.
3 What will he do to you, and what more besides, you deceitful tongue?
4 He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom bush.
5 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek, that I live among the tents of Kedar!
6 Too long have I lived among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
1. Seeking God
1. Seeking God
1 I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me.
A. Our need: distress
There are so many problems that cause us distress! Physical, family, work, financial, emotional, circumstantial, loneliness, uncertainty, fear.
What is causing you distress today? Don’t think you’re unique! Distress is close to all of us!
Let us cry out to the Lord when we are in distress. The Psalmist tell us why.
B. God’s response: He answers
God always answers. Do you wonder if that is so? The scriptures are so clear about this!
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
God especially cares for us when we are in distress.
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
C. Reasons not to call on the Lord.
There aren’t any.
We need God when things are going poorly.
We need God when things are going well.
2. Suffering wrong
2. Suffering wrong
2 Save me, Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”
12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
The Psalmist declares his problem was the same as Stephen’s! Suffering because of lies told about us.
A. People lie about you.
Yes, people lie about you. Lying lips
“Sticks and stone may break my bones but words will never hurt me” isn’t true, is it? Word can hurt us. Words can ruin our reputation, turn people against us and if we allow them, they can pierce our inner being and cause us to doubt ourselves.
There is no defense that you and I can use prevent lies from being uttered about us.
This could be people lying to you or lying about you. It is probably this. Why do they do this?
The fact that the issue is a lie tells us you are not to blame.
B. People lied about Jesus.
They envy you, resent you, want what you have, hate you because you are a Christians.
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.
Do not be surprised if people lie about you! They lied about Jesus.
3. Seeing justice
3. Seeing justice
3 What will he do to you, and what more besides, you deceitful tongue? 4 He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom bush.
A. God’s response to the liar is punishment.
This is God’s response to the liar. The book of Proverbs highlights seven sins that God detests. Two of them are related to lying.
16 There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
The Lord hates lies in verse 17 and hates those who lie under oath about others in verse 19. I would say it’s clear what God thinks about lies and liars!
“He will punish you” is directed to the liar and make it clear that one will not escape from this punishment.
One of the joys of knowing God is to know our sins are forgiven. Our sins are removed from us.
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
That is not so for those who are far from God. Can you imagine being punished for every individual sin you have committed? This punishment is specifically mentioned for lying.
Psalm 120 says God will not leave a liar unpunished. It’s unlikely that these statements, “a warrior’s sharp arrow, with burning coals of the broom bush” at literal.
Lies don’t injure us on the outside but on the inside. So it is that arrows pierce our skin and injure us within.
The punishment is like burning coals. Fire isn’t limited to one place but spreads and causes great damage. So is the damage the tongue can cause. James tells us,
5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
B. God’s punishment is proportionate.
This punishment is appropriate for one who lies because of the damage that lies do.
If you are suffering because someone has lied about you, take heart, God will punish the liar.
How then do we respond when we are the object of lies?
4. Seeking peace
4. Seeking peace
5 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek, that I live among the tents of Kedar! 6 Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. 7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
A. Lament for the right reason.
“Woe to me.” Not a phrase we use these days but if we do use something like it we are more likely feeling sorry for ourselves. Woe is me,
I just bumped my knee!
Someone did something awful to me for no reason!
Everything is going wrong today!
I’m sick!
I did something stupid!
The Psalmist was feeling sorry for himself but for a good reason. He was grieved by the sin around him.
Meshek, a descendant of Japheth Genesis 10:2 and Kedar, a son of Ishmael Genesis 25:13, were Eastern Tribes, far from the land of Israel. Whether he was actually living there isn’t the issue. He was surrounded by those who didn’t honor God. Lying was the focus of this lament, but there were no doubt many other ways in which those around him caused him spiritual pain.
One who knows God and loves God and wants to live for God has to be grieved by sin around us and in particular when we are the object of lies.
Does the sin around you cause you spiritual pain? I am afraid that I am so exposed to sin that I rarely am surprised or grieved by it. Of course that is different if it touches my life personally.
B. Seek peace by what you say.
Do you long for the kingdom of God on earth? Do you long for a time when righteousness reigns? Do you seek peace? Not retribution or payback, but peace?
Even if those around you are wicked, sinful, and habitual liars, seek peace. Speak in a peaceful way. Live a godly life by what you say.
7 When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them.
Questions for Discussion
Is it hard for you to cry out to the Lord as the first thing you do when you are in distress? Why do we try to solve the problem ourselves before we cry out to the Lord?
What have you learned works as a way to speak peace when others around you “are for war”?
Are you in a situation now where others are lying about you that we can pray for you?