Do You Want the Truth?

Proverbs 17:4 A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.

Do You Want the Truth?

Are you ever amazed by how many people are deceived by falsehood? Whether it is the spin coming from the politician, the bias coming from some news report, or the falsehood coming from some false teacher, we sometimes scratch our heads at how many people can be deceived by such untruth. How can this be?

Well, it is obviously not merely a matter of intellect because many brilliant people who are otherwise smart are easily deceived by lies. Part of the answer is that we are inclined to know what we want to know. We are inclined to believe what we wish to be the truth.

Proverbs 17:4 says, “A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips.” There is a connection here between what a person does and what a person hears. Then the proverb goes on to say, “And a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue.” In other words, those who don’t want to do what is right don’t want to hear what is true.

The easiest person in the world to deceive is the person who doesn’t want to know the truth.  No one sets out to swallow falsehood hook, line, and sinker. No one needs to. All that needs to be done is to reject the truth, to be slow to listen to the truth, and to shut the truth down. It is easy to deceive those who don’t want to know the truth, but anyone who has a heart to know the truth can do so.