I recently read a quote online that got the wheels turning in my head a bit. A person, almost in passing stated, “The focused, educated, and wary will always recognize the folly of the masses who are deceived into issues that don’t exist.” Almost immediately the two passages above came to mind. Between the people who insist on misapplying truths to people and the rest who deliberately misrepresent facts (they do lie), we have before us a great reason as to why all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. In other words, what Job’s friends were saying were generally truths — they just didn’t apply to Job and his situation. God said that the more they spoke the darker the situation was getting. So He broke in and “shed the light of truth” on the topic.
Edward Bernays was one of the first people to exploit the fact that people tend to move like a herd. They are moved by their unconscious desires and are generally irrational in the process. So if a deceitful person can figure out what will move people they can exploit them in droves. This is what a liar does and liars come in many forms. The greater the platform the greater the potential is for damage. I have always said that someday God is going to expose all lies and liars and when He does we are going to be shocked at how much of our thinking process was based on false information. It may take us a million years to come to terms with some of the ways that the lies we believed impacted us during our earthly life. Are you starting to understand yet why all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death? It is impossible to measure the impact that lies have on people as individuals and society as a whole.
I recall some twenty-five years ago on a Sunday afternoon, as a young Christian, doing research on atheism and macro-evolution at a local library. To my surprise, a gentleman was sitting at one of the large tables editing a new edition of a high school earth science textbook for Holt, Rhinehart and Winston. Being the kind of straight-shooter I was in those days I asked him, “Sir, may I ask what you are doing?” He explained that he was a retired science teacher from a local high school and edited for Holt, Rhinehart and Winston part-time. Pointing out a nearby window I asked him, “Do you think all of this got here by accident?” He explained that he believed that God created it, but he didn’t know how. He even told me that he had attended a local church that morning. I was shocked and disillusioned. How could a man go to church on Sunday morning and then teach macro-evolution to children? I realized then that being a Christian in the school system may be worse than not being there at all. To participate in the propagation of such a damnable lie was to me unconscionable. But again it helped me understand why all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. This man influenced a great many impressionable children with lies.
On August 21, 2017, my hometown Kansas City, MO was ground-zero for one of the most spectacular events in modern history. It was high-noon when the Sun went completely black for a few minutes. Even the crickets were deceived as they chirped away for about five minutes. And just in case you missed it we have another Solar eclipse scheduled in about seven years. I have to admit that it was a bit frightening. As powerful as the Sun is… it was being eclipsed by something and on a massive scale. Darkness at noon? People who love darkness got a taste of it. It got the wheels turning in my head a bit. What is God trying to illustrate to us?
Lies and deception are to the truth what the moon was that day to our sun. And these are the times we are living in. There is more information and access to the truth now than there has ever been. But there are also forces at work to darken counsel by words without knowledge.We are all going to give an account someday for the false words of our mouth. Even when we may be saying things that are generally true, but do not apply in a specific situation. We need to be very careful. Sometimes we can only know the truth about something or someone by specific God-imparted discernment. Job’s friends were counselors — they were not prophets. This was their downfall. Perhaps the Psalmist said it best, Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. (Psalm 141:3).
