Let not mercy and truth forsake you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
4 and so find favor and high esteem
In the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:3-4
I love these verses because they are so foundational to everyday living. Who doesn’t want to live with mercy and truth? Why would the scripture tell us not to allow mercy and truth to forsake us!?
Verse 3a: Let not mercy and truth forsake you.
Many believers would consider themselves, to some level, merciful and probably very honest!! The question is if you are under pressure, or feel threatened by someone, can you still show mercy and be truthful? Or do you forsake mercy and compassion and take matters into your own hands?
We need to hold on to truth no matter what. This truth is not just biblical truth, but it is our testimony as if you are testifying about a situation in court. Many believers would consider themselves truthful, but it takes us a lot to be purely truthful. Sometimes, one can share only the part of “truth” that puts them in a good light! At other times, a person’s own thoughts or perceptions taint how they share the information. At times, there could be pure exaggeration of the facts to make one’s point. In all these cases, some truth was shared, but it was partial truth, and it can lead others to a wrong conclusion based on how the information was shared. This is a very serious problem!!
One of God’s Ten Commandments is:”You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16
Anytime that we share information about someone in a way that is not purely factual and complete, we are in danger of bearing false witness against our neighbor. This is an area that I believe Christians who are in a prophetic and deliverance ministry should be very careful. People can quickly make a determination of someone’s character or motives in the name of being prophetic, or seeing a demonic spirit in someone, but all along not recognizing that they just stepped into accusing their neighbor falsely!! If anyone has discernment of seeing those things, he/she can pray for opportunity to minister to the individual at some point, but love does not advertise people’s issues to others or make quick judgments!!
Verse 3b: Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart,
The scripture tells us to bind mercy and truth around our neck. The word “bind” from Strong’s Concordance is a Hebrew word (H7194) which means: to tie, or to conspire.
Carnal or wicked people can conspire against an innocent person (Proverbs 1:10-15), but God has His own way He wants you to conspire!! He wants us to have mercy and truth tied to our neck, and written on the tablet of our heart. This is our winning strategy!! This is what will protect us from wickedness and from harm. When it’s around our neck, it will keep us from becoming proud and stiff-necked in the hard places of life. By writing it on our heart, even when our heart is hot with pain, the fire will light the words “mercy & truth” that are engraved on our hearts to be seen by those around us!
Verse 4: and so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
When we respond with mercy and truth, God is pleased because we have represented Him well on the earth. That kind of response can even change those who didn’t have the right intentions originally! What a powerful testimony that would be before men that the Lord has truly made us supernatural people!!! Jesus was a great example of this. The scripture in John 1 tell us that He came full of grace & truth. Many who tried to trip him up walked away convicted because of His response to difficult situations.
The Lord is looking for us to walk this out consistently . We need to have both mercy and truth!! We can’t just operate in the one that fits our personality better and forsake the other one. This will make us off balanced Christians, and it causes us not to represent Jesus well!! We are in need of His supernatural work in us to go above and beyond our preferences. When we walk in both mercy and truth regardless of circumstances, God is glorified!! In addition, the scripture tells us that we get to have the Lord’s favor and as well man’s favor!!
Lord, thank you for your grace that gives us the ability and the courage to walk this out daily!! Amen.