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Monday, April 28,
2008
Flattery Will Get You Nowhere
1Thessalonians 2:3-6 For our exhortation
was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile: (4) But as we were
allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as
pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts. (5) For neither at any time
used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is
witness: (6) Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others,
when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ. (KJV)
Flattering words are those that seek to
please the people, which can actually beguile them as well if one is not
saying what they truly mean. Say what you mean and mean what you say when
speaking on behalf of our Lord. Many are more concerned with what people’s
perception of them is rather than the approval of our Lord, which makes
them more of a hindrance than an asset to the body of Christ. So how do you
give God’s answer to people, is it the straight forward truth that will set
them free or are you sugar coating the speech to make it more acceptable to
them? When you are asked a question, do you give simple yes and no answers
or do you feel it is necessary to explain yourself to people, trying to explain
it in a way you hope they will accept? For those that wish to truly please
our Lord you will find that trying to please God and man just doesn’t seem
to work, like mixing oil and water, it just doesn’t gel. For those that are
truly steadfast and unmovable in their walk, they will find that pleasing
God alone may leave you on a narrow path, one that is not heavily traveled,
but the only one that leads to our eternal inheritance.
Matthew 5:37 But let your communication
be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
(KJV)
Williams New Testament translation
for Matthew 5:37
37.
But your way of speaking must be a simple `Yes' or `No.' Anything
beyond this comes from the evil one.
Have you ever had someone ask you a
question or make a request for you to do something and your answer was no?
Then once you gave your answer there is space of uncomfortable silence,
where now you are expected or think you owe an explanation? This is exactly
what the Lord is referring to here; keep your answer simple and to the
point and don’t think you always have to explain yourself. Many of us have
been brought up with the mindset that we need to be polite and do things
just to please others, even things that are contrary to sound doctrine or
something the Lord just isn’t asking us to partake of. Now I am not saying
to be jerk, but rather if the Lord asks you not to involve yourself in
something, no matter how popular it may be to others, a simple yes or no
answer is all that is needed be pleasing to our Father. And don’t think you
need to manufacture an answer just because someone else is putting the
pressure on you, if you don’t have an answer at the time or if you are just
not sure, then it would be in your best interest to leave it alone and not
try to make something up that you will regret later. Sometimes the Lord
just may ask you to not get involved even though at the time you are not
sure why; but by letting patience have its perfect work, sometime later the
answer will manifest as to why the Lord had you withdraw from it. Simply
put this is just another way of saying we walk by faith and not sight.
Basically what Paul is saying is that if you are always seeking to be a
people pleaser, then don’t expect to be used by God. However if you chose
His approval above anyone or anything else then you will be a vessel fit,
ready for the Masters use.
Psalms 5:8-9 Lead me, O LORD, in thy
righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my
face. (9) For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is
very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their
tongue. (KJV)
Have you ever seen people and the term
‘slick’ applies as a fitting nickname? Someone that always tells everyone
what they want to hear, someone that just uses people for their own
advantage? The reason there is no faithfulness coming out of the mouth is
because there is nothing in the heart but two faced double talk; always the
nice guy telling people what they want to hear and not what is really going
on, which aptly describes many of the so called pastors and teachers we
have around today. Are you able to give a straightforward answer concerning
the kingdom of God or do you skirt the truth leaving out the essentials so
as not to offend anyone? When someone asks your response to an issue are
you able to respond with what is pleasing to God or are you more concerned
with mans opinion of you? If someone asks you to get involved in something
that is not peaceable, something you know is not of God, do you feel the
need to explain it in a way they will accept, sugar coating it, or do you
just give a simple yes or no answer and let them ask God for themselves if
they are really concerned? We have way too many people pleasers preaching
and teaching things they shouldn’t be for their own advantage sake and not
the Lord’s anymore, which will have dire consequences to those that follow
these wishy washy doctrines.
Ephesians 4:29-30 Let no corrupt
communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use
of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (30) And grieve
not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption. (KJV)
Sometimes what is edifying to the hearers
is not always something that is pleasing to them, but something they needed
to hear. One of the ways many corrupt the true communication that should be
coming from the mouth is by flattery, people pleasing, someone that should
have been a minister of grace is now a disgrace in the sight of our Lord.
It grieves the Holy Spirit to see the true intention of God watered down by
those that don’t have the spiritual spine to stand up and tell the people
what they need to hear and not just what they want to hear. When you were
raising your children and all they were concerned with in their diet was
things that had sugar and spice, things that they thought were nice, did
you cave in and give them what they wanted or what they needed? As one matures, and this does include
maturing in the Lord, you find out that in order to grow strong it will
take a much better diet than that to maintain a healthy body. So it is not
only a matter of what you are feeding yourself spiritually, but what are
you feeding others around you as well? Is it simple truth that will build
them up and edify or are you halting between two opinions seeking the favor
of man and God at the same time?
Psalms 12:1-4 Help, LORD; for the godly
man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. (2) They
speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a
double heart do they speak. (3) The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips,
and the tongue that speaketh proud things: (4) Who have said, With our
tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us? (KJV)
Ever hear the term two faced? Well we
have a lot of two faced people that speak from both sides of their mouth
because of a double heart, which makes them double minded and unstable in
the things of our Lord. So who is Lord in your life, and whose words are
you speaking today? Are they spirit and are they life to the brethren or
are they of your own tongue seeking your own desires? Don’t wait till it’s
too late to find out, remember flattery will get you nowhere.
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