For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.Romans 16:18
As I have stressed many times before, superlatives, adjectives, or flattery without constructive behavior to support whatever we are promising or perhaps unthinkingly committing ourselves to verbally, we make vows superficially without thinking of the consequences of shallow words only.
All the praise and flattery toward the Lord is useless, if we are attempting to bribe or bargain with Him. If we promise Him something and not validate, not only are we committing the sin of omission, but the sin of commission, lying and breaking a covenant, or contract sworn to-
I'm almost certain that no one reading has been guilty of this consciously, I pray,; but may have inadvertently slipped into this trap. To those who have used this ploy so long, it has real appeal, also to ones they may wish to impress with many flattering phrases and superlatives.
But we must be honest with the Lord; He knows our real thoughts and judges accordingly.
He knows He's more than all the praise and adjectives. Because all things are resident in Him, He in all things and all things are in and of Him!
by
James Gargus
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4 comments:
Well, Lance, I hesitate to compliment you, but it is well deserving. This is truly a sore-needed conversation for us to have among believers. I love the way you challenge us to look inside ourselves to see if this is something we may be doing sub-consciously. Great point! Encouraging words is one of my love languages, but often it can be tempting for me to give it out of the wrong motive. Keep digging below the surface!
i think it is good for us not to promise God something that we can't do it ! God bless ~
The image is simply breath-taking and inspires deeper soul searching within. Thanks for reflections. They uplift the spirit.
If anything, I am guilty of the opposite--too much truth! I'm blunt and I cut to the chase; sometimes I hurt feelings because of that part of my character, so for that I am in ongoing repentance.
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