Beware the Flattering Tongue
During Jesus’ lifetime, many people came to test him. They had various motivations for doing so. I assume there were many who wanted to test him to understand if he truly was the Messiah. This is good. We should always test teaching that we hear. However, many came to test him to discredit him or to cause him to say something that would lead to his arrest. This second type of testing is what we read about today. Pharisees and Herodians came to entrap him. Both these groups of people had a political agenda. The Pharisees wanted political freedom with the church in charge. This would leave them as leaders of the people and of the nation. Herodians also wanted political freedom from Rome, but they wanted a member of Herod’s dynasty to be king. Neither of them wanted the son of a carpenter from Nazareth to rise as the savior of the people and new king of Israel. Of course, they, like so many others, had the wrong idea about what the Messiah truly was.
The flattery and flowery praises of these accusers remind us just how dangerous a smooth tongue can be. Psalm 55:21 warns us of flattering words hiding ill intent. It says, “The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.” In Proverbs, we also read about the temptation that comes hidden behind deceptively kind language. Proverbs 5:3, we are told, “For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil.” Disastrous plans sometimes lurk behind the best compliments.
While Jesus’ accusers did not fool him with their false flattery, you and I are not always so discerning, but we need to be. On our own, knowing the truth from the lie is not always easy. For some of us, it is even harder. I always want to believe people are kind and good. Unfortunately, that just isn’t the case sometimes. If you are like me, we need to lean on God to help us know the difference between sincerity and manipulation. Malachi 3:17-18 says, “They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.” The closer we grow to our Lord, the easier it will be to notice the pretender. So, let us cling to Him. Let us rely on Him to guide us and show us the right way and the right companions so that we do not fall prey to false praise.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
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