"No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence"
This Psalm is simple, yet full of insight. I can't let anyone who practices deceit dwell in my house. Maybe they'll only be a visitor until they show their true character. But once I realize they are practicing deceit, they have to go. This seems simple and obvious. But then I started thinking about it more. It's plain to see that no one would invite a deceitful person into their house to live, but do we invite deceitfulness into our home in a form we don't always recognize? How about the evening news, the radio, music we listen to or books we read or information we gather on the net. I started to realize how I can violate this important teaching of David's without having a flesh and blood person in my home. If I allow a world view that doesn't sync up with mine and more importantly with God's, live in my home, I am letting one who practices deceit dwell in my home. What about "one who speaks falsely" standing in my presence. Same thing...what of all those news shows that so badly skew the news to make one side look bad? What about the lies of the ungodly that I hear on the radio or read in the paper? Even closer to the heart...what about those "preachers" who preach a gospel that is a little less...a little more sprinkled with deceit. Not quite the real gospel. Have they set up a "dwelling" in my home?
I have to watch all four corners and every door. Being a dad and a man is work. I can't sit back and let life happen to me. I have to have my filter in place and make sure I am checking on who wants to move in a live here. Living there is not the same as stopping by for a visit. We can't sequester ourselves from the world. But who is taking up residence in our lives?
Lord,
Help me be free from deceit and then help me remain free from deceitful people and deceitful influences. Help me be sensitive to my own ability to deceive myself, and sensitive to those things that are deceiving me that I might not realize. Help me be lovingly discerning in all things.
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