Rev. William Watson
Deceit and dishonesty seem to be common practices in the Christians way of life today. Far too many people are deceived about the dangers of sin. Far too many Christians take it too lightly, not realizing it may destroy them and their families. We have conditioned ourselves to see dishonesty as being different from the sin of lying. Husbands and wives do it for the good of the family; parents are dishonest with their children; and children are dishonest with their parents. I’ve heard pastors being dishonest from the pulpit, supposedly for the betterment of the church.
Over the years, little acts of evil practices and little acts of disobedience may seem harmless—but let the weight of sin gradually accumulate, and we will find ourselves far from God. Life will become a spiritual ruin. In the book of Hebrews, we are warned of the danger of “the deceitfulness of sin” (James 3: 13). James said that the attractiveness of sin is really a mask covering death (1: 15). Wrong belief leads to wrong thinking which leads to wrong actions. This can easily happen when we become pleasers of man rather than pleasers of God.
The church is designed so that each generation prepares for the future. We do this by teaching and preparing our children to seek wisdom from above for living here below: “My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge and liftest up thy voice for understanding,” Proverbs 2: 1-3.
As a loving Father, I strongly believe that God wants to shield us from avoidable pitfalls in life. He knows what will happen when we make poor choices, and He wants to protect us. There is a saying that honesty is the best policy. I say, that honesty is the only policy.
My weekly prayer is for the reader of this commentary to be spiritually inspired of God. Become an Intercessory Prayer Partner with the EOF ministry by contacting EOF at P.O. Box 330127, Nashville, Tenn. 37203; or e-mail <watsonwr68@gmail.com>. God bless.
