Be Truthful to God – The Kingdom Curriculum XIII (1)

Be Truthful to God

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20

“You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.” Deuteronomy 6:16

Being Truthful Starts with Being Honest to God

God is jealous for His Truth, because He is Truth, and all Truth reflects something about Him. To the extent that we corrupt or twist the Truth–or allow such to happen–we are guilty of offending the very Name of God. But if we live the Truth and speak it in love, then we show the world a reality beyond time and space, a power that is able to overcome all merely self-centered or pragmatic concerns and create relationships and communities based on love.

God is seeking those who will worship and serve Him in Truth. He is God of Truth, and He insists that His people live in Truth before Him. And being truthful–being honest–begins with being truthful and honest to God. Israel was not honest to God at Massah, when, to achieve their own selfish interests, they challenged His goodness and cast doubt on His power and intentions. Their arrogant question, “Is the LORD among us or not?” implied that His Word could not be trusted. He promised He’d go with us, didn’t He? So, if He really is with us, then He’ll give us what we ask. They thought they might be able to manipulate God into doing their bidding by this “put-up-or-shut-up” approach.

We shake our heads and think, “What ungrateful fools!” But do we do the same thing? Do we, in some show of pious inquiry or theological musing, actually challenge God by casting aspersions on Him? “Lord, I know You love me, and You want what’s best for me. So if you really love me…” “Lord, we only want what will glorify you, so we hope You will…” We “exalt” and “honor” God like a child, saying to a friend from whom he wants something, “I’ll be your best friend.”

This is not being honest or truthful toward God, and He knows that. The parent who feels she’s being manipulated by her child will withhold the child’s desire until she senses that his motives are pure and he is being honest. Then the child’s request will become a matter of shame–but love and trust will be restored. Why should we expect anything other than this from God?

How can we use the Law of God to make wise ethical choices? Order your copy of The Ground for Christian Ethics today. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.