Reliable

“An unreliable messenger stumbles into trouble, but a reliable messenger brings healing.” Proverbs 13:17

The more I read and unpack and apply God’s Word over time, I’m discovering a truth that I learned in seminary.  The Bible interprets itself.  If you want to find and understand the truth of what a verse means, start exploring the context.  Start unwrapping what surrounds it.  Let’s give it a try.  What is a reliable witness, and how do you become a reliable witness? What is an unreliable witness, and how do you become an unreliable witness?

We’re hoping to be truthful and trustworthy, so let’s learn how to get there.  Proverbs 13 unpacks the following process of becoming and defining a reliable messenger.  Accept parental discipline throughout your childhood.  Use positive words.  Control your tongue.  Work hard.  Hate lies.  Don’t pretend to be anything other than who you are.  Be light and joyful.  Talk with and listen to wise people and accept and respect wise advice, and you’ll become a life-giving fountain to others.  Think before you act.  Accept criticism.  Love and discipline your children.  Leave a good inheritance for those who come after you.

Doing the exact opposite is the pathway to become an unreliable messenger.  Proverbs 13 also unpacks the process of becoming and defining an unreliable messenger.  Spend your childhood mocking your parents and refuse to listen to them.  Crave violence.  Be sarcastic and critical.  Be lazy.  Lie and be covered with shame and disgrace.  Pursue wickedness.  Fake and pretend to be who you aren’t.  Be prideful and argumentative.  Try to get rich quick.  Despise advice, and refuse to be teachable.  Be impulsive, and don’t consider the consequences of your actions.  Ignore criticism.  Turn to evil.  Surround yourself with fools.  Give your children what they want when they want it, and don’t discipline them.

We also learned in seminary that some people will sit back and say to themselves, “So what!  Why do I care what the Bible says about reliability?”  Well, have you ever been scammed or ripped off by people who seemed reliable, but they weren’t?  Have you ever confided in someone who broke your confidence?  Have you trusted someone who then twisted your words and used them against you?  Have you followed someone’s advice and got into a lot of trouble?  Have you trusted someone and said “I do” and later discovered that the person was nothing like what you thought they were?  Have you believed in and followed someone who was supposed to be trustworthy but they just took advantage of you and hurt you?  Are you struggling to be open with anyone because you’ve been burned by people in your past? 

Have you noticed that people in our world aren’t reliable?  Will they even show up if you hired them?  Will they be hardworking?  Will they stay?  Not likely.  Will people listen and do what they said they’ll do?  I doubt it.  Who do you know who consistently listens to you and tells no one else what you tell them?  Whose word is gold to you?  Who never goes away no matter what you’re going through?  Do you have a friend who “sticks” to you like a brother or a sister?

God is reliable.  All of His promises are backed by His unchanging character.  “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).  Since we’re all made in the image and likeness of God, shouldn’t we be people who keep our word and our promises?  Have you declared that everything that comes out of your mouth will be true?  Have you promised to be honest and to speak only the truth in love?  Or have you caved to culture?  Do you believe that everyone lies, and so you give yourself permission to be dishonest?  Are you honest except when you’re trying to humor people and get them to laugh at you?  Have you developed the reputation that you are a person of integrity? 

In a world filled with liars, today I’m inviting you to join me in a process of being different.  People love me or hate me, but they know that I’m going to be honest with them.  Most people have a very small box and inside of the box are the names of a few people whom they trust who have proved to be reliable over their lifetime.  Yes, we all fail.  Yes, we all walk in forgetfulness.  When I was in seminary, my friend, Dr. Leroy Solomon, told us that when we’re pastoring and fail, everyone in the church knows it.  What they’re looking to see is how we’ll deal with our own failures.  Will we be honest and confess our faults?  Will we seek forgiveness?  Will we pretend that nothing happened or blame it on someone else?  People in the church, in the workplace, in the school, and in our homes are hoping and looking for us to be reliable messengers who bring God’s healing.  My dad said that when others mess up, we should treat them the way that we want to be treated when we mess up.

My encouragement and prayer is that we become immersed in God’s love, grace, and truth.  I pray that we never negotiate away truth or exchange it for a lie.  Let’s build strong and reliable relationships with one another.  Let’s talk less and listen more to God and to one another.  I pray that God’s Truth is spoken each day in love and is translated into words that everyone around us can understand.