October 29 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

We can harm our neighbor as a person. Therefore God said: "You shall not murder." We can harm our neighbor as a sexual being. Therefore God Said: "You shall not commit adultery." We can harm him or her in the traffic of goods and services. Therefore God said: "You shall not steal." But we can also harm our neighbor by the way we talk. Therefore God said: "You shall not give false testimony."

The direct reference of the commandment is to the courtroom. The witness is asked: "Did you see him steal the diamonds—yes or no?" The witness must speak the truth and nothing but the truth, for the defendant can be killed by the tongue of the witness.

In general this commandment forbids all forms of lying and evil-speaking; it commands us to love the truth and speak the truth in love.

The reliability of the spoken word is the cement of society. But when "yes" probably means "no," and "I don't know" means "I am not going to tell you," the trust is lost and society can no longer exist.

Our worldly society is always at the edge of a total breakdown. And it would not be surprising if the breakdown finally came. Truthfulness is becoming so rare that when you tell the truth, hardly anyone believes you!

The Bible calls the devil the father of the lie. And he certainly has many children today.

James says that the most difficult part of our conversion is taming the tongue. Evil talk has done more harm than knives and guns. Learning to speak with love, with deep respect for the truth, and with a close check on our words before they pass our lips, is most difficult. It requires the gift of self-control and an overhaul of one of the deepest springs in our being.

Our tongues get under the control of love and truth only when the Holy Spirit descends on us. That new power, which showed itself on the first Pentecost as tongues of fire on all who received God, is the Spirit of love and truth.

REFLECTIONS

Try to think of specific situations in which God may be calling you to shine as a person of integrity whom others can trust to tell the truth in a loving way. Then ask God to help you be that kind of truth-teller.

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.