May the Lord silence all flattering
lips and every boastful tongue.
Psalm 12:3 NIV
Flattering lips” don’t sound so bad at first, right? Everyone likes to hear good things about themselves. But if you can’t trust the source of those compliments, then the words fall flat. And after a while, you begin to wonder what the motive is behind all this sweet talk. What is the person hiding?
The person who boasts creates a similar problem. Besides the fact that hearing about someone else’s achievements all the time can get boring, the real problem is that it becomes difficult to tell when the person is telling the truth and when she is exaggerating. And if you can’t trust what she says about herself, what can you trust? Has she really achieved all she says she has, or is she actually failing? And if she is failing, why can’t she just trust you enough to confide in you? Why does she have to lie?
Lying, in whatever form it comes, causes barriers to rise up between people. It’s hard to get close to someone whose words can’t be trusted. It’s hard to love people if you—or they—are hiding behind false words.
God, silence my tongue when I am tempted to say things that aren’t true. Help me create honest connections with people, even when it’s hard. Amen.
Recommended Resource:
If you liked today’s reading, we recommend the newest edition of Daily Wisdom for Women Devotional Collection. CLICK HERE to learn more.
Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2019 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Marian Leslie.