Return to Holiness
" 'Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.'" Leviticus 19: 11
In Leviticus chapter 9, the first twenty-five verses have different laws for the conduct of the children of God. A variety of social duties are inculcated in this passage, mainly as it refers to common and little-thought-of vices to which we as human beings fall ever so easily. The premise to these laws is the Holiness of God. Why should we obey these laws? Because the God we serve is a Holy God and his servants too must live to be Holy. These laws then are for the everyday conduct of GodÂ’s people, and obedience to them does a lot to build up our relationship with God, and with each other. So then the Lord God commands Moses his servant, in verse 2 of Leviticus 19 "Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. There is therefore a call for holiness among GodÂ’s people, a holiness that should mirror or reflect the holiness of God.
In Leviticus chapter 9, the first twenty-five verses have different laws for the conduct of the children of God. A variety of social duties are inculcated in this passage, mainly as it refers to common and little-thought-of vices to which we as human beings fall ever so easily. The premise to these laws is the Holiness of God. Why should we obey these laws? Because the God we serve is a Holy God and his servants too must live to be Holy. These laws then are for the everyday conduct of GodÂ’s people, and obedience to them does a lot to build up our relationship with God, and with each other. So then the Lord God commands Moses his servant, in verse 2 of Leviticus 19 "Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy. There is therefore a call for holiness among GodÂ’s people, a holiness that should mirror or reflect the holiness of God.
When we get to Verse 11, todayÂ’s Watchword, we find these words. " 'Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. These are three separate, yet connected commands that have to do with interpersonal relationships. Disobedience to each law will affect our relationship with those around us, such as committing petty frauds, or not scrupling to misrepresent truth in transactions of business, ridiculing hysical disabilities in others, or circulating stories to the prejudice of others. In opposition to these bad habits, a spirit of humanity and brotherly kindness is strongly enforced.
This verse refers directly to the eighth and ninth commandments which states, you shall not steal, or rob; and you shall not lie. You see friends, the unbelievers of this wicked world are filled with the lust of greed and thinks nothing of robbing, stealing, cheating or lying, to get what they want. It never matters to them how they acquire their possessions. What becomes important is that they have acquired. But, God's People are not to be that way. We must pay close attention to how we achieve, and the level of importance we place upon what we produce. After all, stealing is of the Devil--John 10:10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
The real truth is that stealing, lying and deception will destroy any relationship and will indeed destroy the very fabric of a society. When he commands “You shall not steal." God includes no "ifs," "ands," "buts" or "maybe under certain conditions." That things can be stolen implies a right to own property. On its face, this law protects a person's right to acquire and possess property, and by condemning its opposite, stealing, its spirit promotes the principle of generosity more directly than any other commandment. This is certainly a timely and straight forward law. Who could possibly object to it? Even thieves object to being robbed! Yet some human beings will steal anything not welded, bolted, riveted or glued down! We can steal by burglary, larceny, embezzlement, robbery, hijacking, shoplifting, kidnapping, picking pockets or plagiarizing. We can defraud, hold up, gyp, lift, loot, nip, nab, pinch, pluck, pilfer, rustle, snitch, snatch and swindle. It is interesting how many words in our language describe this one sin.
It is not only the lies that may lead to a person losing their life or property that is referred to here, but all whispering, tale-bearing, slander, and defamation. In other words, whatever is proposed as a truth, which is false, and tends to injure another in his goods, person, or character, becomes the very thing that God commands us not to do.
If we should examine ourselves today, how would we measure against GodÂ’s lie detector? Or His slander machine? How many of our possessions are not really our possessions? In other words, how caring have we been of those around us? How good a neighbor have you been? Whatever we have in the world, we must see that we get it honestly, for we cannot be truly rich, or stay rich, with that which we did not gain honestly and fairly.
This then is a call for us to return to holiness. We have been living so long in a selfish and self-centered world, that as Christians we have started to reflect that ungodly, unholy attitude. We cannot be sacred and selfish at the same time. In fact whenever we begin to show these characteristics what we are actually showing is an abandonment of all that God stands for. Such abandonment must be seen as abandoning God himself because we cannot serve God and mammon. We cannot serve God through serving ourselves. It is easy to be an idolatrous person. No wonder then that the Apostle Paul encourages us in Coll. 3: 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. One sin leads to another and the only remedy is to submit your entire being to the Spirit of God, ‘not just a part, but every bit of me’ as the song says.
Today I encourage you to measure your every word, your every action against this command of God. I also implore you to let us examine our past and see where we went wrong in what we said or did. Let us seek to make amends and rebuild relationships with others and with our loving God. Remember, we serve God best, by serving others.
Until next Tuesday, be blessed.
This verse refers directly to the eighth and ninth commandments which states, you shall not steal, or rob; and you shall not lie. You see friends, the unbelievers of this wicked world are filled with the lust of greed and thinks nothing of robbing, stealing, cheating or lying, to get what they want. It never matters to them how they acquire their possessions. What becomes important is that they have acquired. But, God's People are not to be that way. We must pay close attention to how we achieve, and the level of importance we place upon what we produce. After all, stealing is of the Devil--John 10:10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
The real truth is that stealing, lying and deception will destroy any relationship and will indeed destroy the very fabric of a society. When he commands “You shall not steal." God includes no "ifs," "ands," "buts" or "maybe under certain conditions." That things can be stolen implies a right to own property. On its face, this law protects a person's right to acquire and possess property, and by condemning its opposite, stealing, its spirit promotes the principle of generosity more directly than any other commandment. This is certainly a timely and straight forward law. Who could possibly object to it? Even thieves object to being robbed! Yet some human beings will steal anything not welded, bolted, riveted or glued down! We can steal by burglary, larceny, embezzlement, robbery, hijacking, shoplifting, kidnapping, picking pockets or plagiarizing. We can defraud, hold up, gyp, lift, loot, nip, nab, pinch, pluck, pilfer, rustle, snitch, snatch and swindle. It is interesting how many words in our language describe this one sin.
It is not only the lies that may lead to a person losing their life or property that is referred to here, but all whispering, tale-bearing, slander, and defamation. In other words, whatever is proposed as a truth, which is false, and tends to injure another in his goods, person, or character, becomes the very thing that God commands us not to do.
If we should examine ourselves today, how would we measure against GodÂ’s lie detector? Or His slander machine? How many of our possessions are not really our possessions? In other words, how caring have we been of those around us? How good a neighbor have you been? Whatever we have in the world, we must see that we get it honestly, for we cannot be truly rich, or stay rich, with that which we did not gain honestly and fairly.
This then is a call for us to return to holiness. We have been living so long in a selfish and self-centered world, that as Christians we have started to reflect that ungodly, unholy attitude. We cannot be sacred and selfish at the same time. In fact whenever we begin to show these characteristics what we are actually showing is an abandonment of all that God stands for. Such abandonment must be seen as abandoning God himself because we cannot serve God and mammon. We cannot serve God through serving ourselves. It is easy to be an idolatrous person. No wonder then that the Apostle Paul encourages us in Coll. 3: 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. One sin leads to another and the only remedy is to submit your entire being to the Spirit of God, ‘not just a part, but every bit of me’ as the song says.
Today I encourage you to measure your every word, your every action against this command of God. I also implore you to let us examine our past and see where we went wrong in what we said or did. Let us seek to make amends and rebuild relationships with others and with our loving God. Remember, we serve God best, by serving others.
Until next Tuesday, be blessed.
Comments
No comments