Don’t Lie!
King Ahab was all upset that he couldn't get what he wanted, and he sulked instead of turning it over to God. And then his wife, the very evil queen Jezebel, hatched a plan, and we read it in 1 Kings 21:11-14, where she arranged for some people to come and falsely accuse the man whose vineyard Ahab wanted. And their false accusation resulted in this man being killed, stoned to death for sins that he didn't commit.
Telling Lies About Others
What an awful thing to do. To spread rumors, to falsify and tell lies about a man so that they could legally kill him. Don't take revenge, friends! So often, if we don't get our way, we look to get back at the people who have hurt us in some way. And one of the real subtle ways we can do this is by spreading rumors and just telling subtle little lies about somebody so that people think worse of them.
Have you been there? Talking about somebody to somebody else so that that person thinks worse of them? Maybe in our day and age, our words don't get people killed. But you can destroy somebody's life quite quickly today on social media or other forms of just spreading rumors. You can take revenge quite easily by lying and convincing others to believe lies about someone else.
Jesus Never Lied
This is such an unchristian way. Friends, can I encourage us today to take the higher road, to take the way of Jesus, not the way of Ahab and Jezebel, to take the way of looking for the best in people. The enemy is so good at tempting us to talk nasty about other people. And I don't want to be like that anymore. I don't know about you.
Let's stop talking about others and making others think worse of them. Let's quit taking revenge. Leave that up to God and let's be like Christ. Focus on what we've got to do without running others down.
Ahab and Jezebel ran others down when they could have lifted them up in the name of God. Don't make that mistake, friends. But in Christ, be better.
