Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Proverbs 25:18 Choose your weapons

18 Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow
    is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor. 



Some of the weapons of Solomon's era are a little unfamiliar to us now.  The King James has the word "maul" as the first one in this verse; the NIV translates it as a "club." Now, I can tell you what a maul is like, since I have used it before.  (No, no, not in battle.) Today's maul is a sledgehammer-like item; the business end of it has a hammer on one side, and an edge similar to an axe on the other. We use it for splitting logs. Some folks use it for hitting tent spikes, or some other use where one needs to hit something VERY hard.

We all know what a sword looks like. Some are sharp on one side, some on two sides. It can be light and thin, like a fencing rapier, or heavy as a calvaryman's weapon. 

An arrow? They've been useful for thousands of years. Many people enjoy collecting arrowheads, for the different shapes and sizes they find. They are all for the same purpose, though --- whether hunting game or a human enemy, the arrow can pierce the body and cause death.

So, when we give a false witness about someone, we may bludgeon them, cut them, or pierce them. Perhaps not literally, on the outside where all can see . . . but definitely on the inside. And it doesn't have to be only that we tell an untruth about someone. It can be if we slander their motives as well. The "why" they did what they did --- whatever they did, it was for an entirely different reason than what you might think --- and their motives were not good! 

We may not sit around dreaming up wild tales and lies to tell others about someone we all know. Many times, though, for Christians the problem is the stating of things we do not know against a person based on our own negative assumptions. We must beware of what we assume without knowledge; we must be even more careful of what we spread around, without first-hand knowledge. This is one of Satan's biggest and best weapons in the fight of good and evil. 
Instead of choosing one of those three weapons, maybe we'd better choose the "sword of the Spirit" and wage war on Satan, instead of on each other.

3 comments:

  1. I wonder how many church fights and church splits could be prevented by listening to these instructions?

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  2. "We must beware of what we assume without knowledge”. Sometimes our assumptions take priority over the truth because they fit in better with our prejudices! Great post once again!

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  3. Guilty as charged your honor. Sheesh. I do have a really bad habit of thinking badly of people based on my own assumptions. I'm trying very hard to remember there are two sides to every story, and not a single one of us are perfect. Especially me!!

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