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With Truthfulness, November 23
I Too May Conquer
The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither
shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed
and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
Zephaniah 3:13
Truthfulness and integrity are attributes of God, and he who possesses
these qualities possesses a power that is invincible.
Never prevaricate; never tell an untruth in precept or in example....
Be straight and undeviating. Even a slight prevarication should not be
allowed.
The Saviour has a deep contempt for all deception. The stern pun-
ishment meted out to Ananias and Sapphira shows this.
Lying lips are an abomination to Him. He declares that into the
holy city “there shall in no wise enter ... any thing that defileth, neither
whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie.” Let truth telling be
held with no loose hand or uncertain grasp. Let it become a part of the
life. Playing fast and loose with truth, and dissembling to suit one’s
own selfish plans, means shipwreck of faith.... He who utters untruths
sells his soul in a cheap market. His falsehoods may seem to serve in
emergencies; he may thus seem to make business advancement that he
could not gain by fair dealing; but he finally reaches the place where he
can trust no one. Himself a falsifier, he has no confidence in the word of
others.
No man can pride himself on his truthfulness, for unless he has
overcome he does not know what truthfulness is. No one can know the
strength of his truthfulness and honesty until he has passed the fiery
ordeal of the temptation to acquire means in questionable ways.
He whose heart is filled with the love that proceeds from God does
not allow self-exaltation or dishonesty to find place in his life. He who is
“born again,” of the Spirit, reveals Christ in the daily life. He is upright
in all his dealings. He does no sly, cunning, underhand work. The good
fruit that appears in his life testifies to the condition of his heart.
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