David wrote Psalm 12 after having observed the duplicity of life by those who professed to be believers. He began by crying out to the Lord about this matter:
Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?”
5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.” Psalm 12:1-5
Definition of “Idly” (in Hebrew): emptiness, vanity, falsehood, emptiness, nothingness, vanity, emptiness of speech, lying, worthlessness (of conduct)
As people of God, we are called to be intentional people. We can’t be passive with our words and use them idly to just make a conversation or try to relieve silence or boredom. This includes not getting involved in those kinds of harmful conversations that are a slippery slope into gossip. It’s hard enough to die to the flesh and not say something harmful when we are unhappy. It’s even harder when someone comes along who has similar feelings about a person or a situation. That becomes the opportunity for the flesh to rise again! We can find ourselves agreeing with the unsatisfied person or possibly share our own sentiment which will not produce good fruit.
David stated that some people can declare,“Our lips are our own..”. Psalm 12:4bIt is dangerous to be around people who think that their lips are their own! These individuals don’t feel accountable to what they speak. This includes flattery, manipulation, lies, or accusations.
Sometimes individuals don’t realize that others notice their manipulation or flattery! It is very discouraging when you see a man or a woman of God getting themselves involved in those kinds of activities. We can’t forget that others are watching our lives, and they can either be encouraged in faith or be discouraged based on how we conduct our lives and our words!
People who have no control over their words scare me because I know it is a matter of time before someone is damaged by them. When we proclaim that we love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and strength, it should include our lips. Our opinions or emotions can compel us to share something that is not edifying to others. However, the scripture has numerous references to this issue including Jesus’ warning on this matter.
I will continue with this subject by sharing Jesus’ warning in the next devotional!
