Beguiling My Heart

Act 23:5 … You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.
(Paul used this OT verse when he was told that he had reviled a God’s high priest – Ananias. He had said something that offended Ananias and Ananias commanded the guard beside Paul to strike him on the mouth. Paul spoke out not knowing that he was in the presence of the high priest and then apologized with saying; “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”)

How many of us savor a good “clean” joke about our President? You know the one that shows up from a Christian brother or sister in your email box. “This is the best one yet!” Not knowing what good news is in store in that email, but trusting that person, you open the email and it a blistering joke or slanderous cut on President Obama.

This past week, in the Jr. High Bible class, we read from Mark 7:9-13 - 9 And he said to them: “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say that if a man says to his father or mother: ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” (NIV)

I posed this question to the class; “How does your generation go about circumventing God’s will and command to honor your parents.” They gave some fascinating answers.

“When mom tells me to do the dishes, I say, ‘I have homework to do’, thus beguiling my own heart. I have just placed doing homework above honoring my parents.”

“When my parents say be home by 9pm and my friends say there is a great movie showing but it gets over at 9:15pm. I show up late at home because I wanted to see the end of the movie. I just beguiled my heart in placing the value of seeing the end of a movie over honoring my parents.”

“Dad says for me to stop talking on the phone (meaning turn off the phone) for it is time to go to bed. I go into my bedroom, start texting my friend that I was talking to and may even email, when my dad requested me to go to bed. I have beguiled my heart in thinking communicating with my friend is more important than honoring my dad.”

The illustrations continued to pop like popcorn, convicting all of our hearts more and more as we contemplated on how we have deceived our hearts into thinking something is more important than honoring those in authority.

Then the Lord brought what I read yesterday for devotions (Acts 23) together with what we were talking about in class. (These students preach Jesus so loud to his hard hearted teacher.) And I thought about the jokes I would pass around in my younger day about President Clinton. How when I found a good one, I passed it on. And I beguiled my heart in thinking that it was more important to slander (in a joking way) our president than to honor him, as the Lord would want. I confessed my sin and many other ways that I have beguiled my heart to thinking something was more important than honoring those in authority.

What has beguiled your heart today when it comes to authority? Here is a parallel truth – “If someone says I love God and hate his brother, he is a liar.” (I John 4:20) So it is, if someone says I honor God but dishonor those in authority, he is a liar.

Take a fresh breath of honoring those in authority today and in so doing, honor God also.

O Lord, the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked…. I have beguiled my heart in so many ways placing what I think is important over that which you declared important way before I ever took my first breath. Please have mercy on my hard heart and may I honor those who are in authority as Jesus. Lord Jesus, You honored the Father in every way. I want to be like You Jesus, and honoring those in authority around me, may I bring much honor to You.
I love you Jesus and honor You. To You be glory.