“The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction. Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it, but folly brings punishment to fools. A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction. Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
Proverbs 16:21-24 NIV
As 2022 got underway, at church we were in a series titled “Wisdom for Life”. Going through the book of Proverbs. Two weeks in a row, Pastor Sarah Zaske hit line drives straight at the enemy’s head with the truth and wisdom of God’s Word. I’ll link both messages below. It was after the second of these messages, that I found myself on deck to lead our Tuesday, Open Arms Food Pantry ministry team’s devotional/discussion time. What follows is what I shared with the group.Pastor Sarah’s challenging question to us about “Whose Kingdom are you building?” Reminded me of an old political joke. I think it is a good analogy for the - Truth & Lies wisdom she shared.
The Joke
A politician dies and finds himself at the pearly gates with Saint Peter. Peter welcomes the politician and tells him there is a problem… They don’t, know what to do with him. Peter, continues saying, “Not to worry though. We have a process for handling these kinds of situations. You must stay 24 hours in each place and after that you can choose if it will be Heaven or Hell for you. The politician says, “Why can’t I just choose now, I am here so I might as well stay.” Peter politely tells him, “You have to follow our process, where would you like to spend your first 24 hours?” The politician says might as well start with Heaven.” Peter opens the gate and allows him to enter. Walking through the gate the politician finds it is beautiful and peaceful. He sees a few friends there and enjoys the outstanding food available. People are happy, so happy they sing all day and work seems more like recreation than labor. When the 24 hours is up the politician return to the gate to meet Peter. Peter asks how his experience was and the politician replies, “He really enjoyed it, I’d like to stay please.” Peter reminds him the process must be followed and escorts him to the elevator that will take him to Hell. When the doors of the elevator open the politician is greeted by Satan himself. Satan, dressed to the nines in black tie and stretched out beyond Satan is a golf course more beautiful than anything the politician could imagine and in the middle of it sat a palatial clubhouse. Satan said, “Come on the party is just starting.” Arriving at the clubhouse, the politician found a lot more of his friends were there. Everyone was dressed elegantly, food was amazing, drinks flowed continually, the music was loud, and the party went on for the entire 24 hours. When it was time, the politician was escorted back to the elevator so he could meet with Peter. Peter greets him and asked what he thought. The politician responded, “It was really great, I enjoyed myself.” Peter tells the politician, “Time to decided where you are spending eternity.” The politician thinks for a moment and answers that he as decided Hell is the place for him. Peter replies, as you wish and escorts him back to the elevator. The politician is quite excited to rejoin his friends and the party. The elevator doors open and there stands Satan, looking like the monster he truly is. The golf course and clubhouse are gone, replaced by mountains of smelly, hot, and burning garbage. The politician’s friends are scavenging through the mess. The politician demands to know, “What happened? I was just here, and it was beautiful.” Satan replied, “yesterday we were campaigning. Today, you voted.”
Isn’t that a great picture of worldly lies, how we so easily fall for them and the consequences of believing them?
That Sunday, Pastor Sarah talked about the Kingdom and how our words need to match the kingdom we are a part of. What captured me about that statement is that this whole series from Proverbs is showing us a picture of the character of the worldly kingdom, ruled by the enemy and the kingdom of God, ruled by Jesus.
Worldly Kingdom God’s Kingdom
Foolish Wise
Proud Humble
Envious Content
Deceptive Honest
What else can we add to the lists? What would you add to the lists?
What a contrast. How easily we jump back and forth between these kingdoms. How easily, we walk along the wall dividing the two, looking for something that we think will make us happy.
In 2017, not unlike now, I found myself struggling with what I saw happening in the world and on social media (there is nothing new under the sun). In a devotion I wrote at the time, based on the above passage from Proverbs, I talked about how we need to engage our brains and speak with wisdom and that we need to seek out the truth, rather than just believe everything we see or hear.
In 2016, during Lent I wrote about the importance of listening to Jesus and ended up with a list of things we should be listening for in order to live well in God’s family. Some of the things are truths we can stand on as we seek truth in this world and gain wisdom.
“Follow me.” (John 1:43)
“Don’t turn my Father’s house into a super Wal-Mart” (John 2:16)
“To see the kingdom of God you must be born again – spiritually.” (John 3:3)
“I know everything about you – so you might as well be honest with Me.” (John 4:17-18)
“If you are without sin – go ahead and throw that stone.” (John 8:7)
“I command you to love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12)
“In this world you will have trouble (with a capital T) but don’t worry because I have overcome the world: (John 16:33)
“Love God and love others” (Mark 12:30-31)
“Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37)
“I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)
“I AM the resurrection and the life – believe that and you will live forever. Do you believe?” (John 11:25-26)
In the group discussion questions for the Sunday message this devotion is inspired by, is a list of 6 reasons people lie:
1. Personality disorder, pathological liar, compulsive
2. Preserve one’s self image
3. Protect someone’s feelings
4. Promote ourselves, boost our reputation
5. Pacify pending conflict
6. Personal gratification in the moment.
How do you see these play out in our culture? Which one do you see most? Which ones are you most likely to see in your own life?
As followers of Christ, we are to be building His kingdom. The words we speak and the actions we take should build up, not tear down. They should bring light to a dark world. We must seek His truth in every aspect of our lives. “Whose kingdom are you building?”
A Prayer
Father, thank you that in the seriousness of life and the weight of your truth, that humor can illustrate your truth, at a time when we need the medicine of laughter. May the words on this page causes who ever reads them. To stop and really consider what kingdom they are building and cause them to seek Your truth and the saving grace offered by Jesus our Lord and King. Amen
January 23, 2022 Message: https://youtu.be/Rn-MO0E9qhQ
January 30, 2022 Message: https://youtu.be/kJhHkrq3j_g
