April 6 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

This psalm invokes God's judgment on the wickedness of words. All kinds of sins of the tongue are mentioned—lies, which are statements that are contrary to the facts, as well as flattery, which means that things are said not because they are true but because someone likes hearing them.

A sinful society lives under the tyranny of lies. The lie has destroyed any and every form of fellowship. We can't trust anybody anymore.

The abuse of words did a great deal of harm in the days of David, but the damage caused by this evil has now increased a thousandfold. We are bombarded by words every living hour. But these words often don't mean what they say. We live under a barrage of lies fired at us on the Internet, in the newspaper, on radio talk shows, and on television. Words are supposed to be simple servants that help us communicate. But today people have made the abuse of words a fine art, disguising what they mean, confusing their hearers, coaxing people along, impressing them. The government does it; so does the attorney, the student, the teacher, the salesperson, the reporter. And sometimes the preacher does it.

The Bible says that the most difficult part of Christian renewal is the taming of the tongue (James 3:8). Our yes must mean yes and our no must mean no. There is no room in the New Jerusalem for those who love and practice falsehood.

When words have become so cheap that a promise is just a mouthful of words, we must rediscover what it means that the "words of the lord are flawless," or, as another Bible version puts it, "the promises of the Lord are pure."

REFLECTIONS

Do you personally find that "the most difficult part of Christian renewal is the taming of the tongue"? What has helped you to be a truthful person?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.