Speak Peace?

Good Morning,

Psalm 28:3 (NKJV)
Do not take me away with the wicked
And with the workers of iniquity,
Who speak peace to their neighbors,
But evil is in their hearts.

These verses brought to mind many of the times when I've been greeted "warmly" and then, when the chips were down so to speak, that same person ended up treating me badly. Now, I know that these times that I've experienced aren't isolated to only me. What I mean is, I'm sure that if I've experienced this sort of behavior from people, even "good Christian" people, then others have had the same or similar experiences.

The prayer that I hear in this verse of Scripture today is that, God forbid!, I should be looked upon in the same way as those "workers of iniquity" who are what we would call "two faced" or "back stabbing" kinds of folks. The bad news here is that there are many of us who, if not to an extreme, have acted in a manner that is described in this verse. If we'll be honest I'm sure that there are those of us who have spoken peace to a brother or sister in Christ while in our hearts there was at least a bit of evil. As I said, of course, maybe not to the degree that some will go in this area and probably not on any regular basis, but we've probably all...or at least many...of us have sinned in this way.

We've all been taken advantage of in some way with a smile, a handshake, a back slap, and even a hug by someone who has in his or her heart and mind anything but peace and love toward us. You know, that "hail fellow, well met" kind of person who is just looking for a way to profit from us. It's happened to you and it's happened to me. The unfortunate result that occurs when we encounter these kinds of people and situations where we've been taken advantage of is the fact that we end up not trusting as the Lord would have us trust and not getting close or friendly with people we should befriend and get close to. You know, we end up suffering from the "once burned" kind of effect. Or, as the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

Something else that's truly unfortunate is the fact that this kind of behavior...people speaking out of both sides of their mouths...is more and more commonplace the world today. So, we become more and more wary of almost everyone. Our hearts are hardened and our minds become closed and we don't fellowship with our brothers and sisters as we ought to be doing.

So, what's the solution to this problem we face? I surely wish I knew because if I did then I'd probably be closer to a lot more people. If I knew the answer to this then I would share it with every brother and sister that I could. However, I don't know the answer and I don't know how to change the feelings that many of us have because of those we've known who have spoken peace and had evil in their hearts.

The best that I can come up with is that I must be careful and prayerful. Careful about those who seem to be just a bit too perfect and prayerful that I make the right decisions on those I trust and get close to. We must also truly love those around us and be open to receiving the love that many want to show. We must allow God to speak into our lives about the people we are around and truly listen to what He says. Then, trust in Him.

Mostly what we have to do is to be open and truthful about how we treat others, what we say and what we do. It has to begin with me. Oh, it can begin with you, as well.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David