FBC Daily Devotional – October 1, 2021

Jealousy, Honesty, and the Cost of Deception

Well a good good Friday to you first day of October. September is in the books. And here we are. We're on the entering into the last quarter of 2021 well, I hope the first three quarters for you of this year have Have been have gone.

Well that you have grown much you've learned much and you can look back on those three quarters and see how God has worked in your life and blessed you provided for you met your needs And gives you something to think about and pray about for the last quarter to finish out the year.

Well Well today we again are returning in our Bible reading to 1st Samuel and reading in chapters 20 and 21. Just kind of a follow-up to the other the day before yesterday when we looked at the jealousy of Saul and how it really Infected his heart and his relationships.

Saul's Jealousy and His Attempt on Jonathan's Life

We see it rear its ugly head again in today's scripture passage and I want to take just a minute to highlight that and then look at look at a look at another challenging matter related to David but With Saul his jealousy now has so controlled him that he Actually attempts to kill his own son and If you know the story if you've read the passage, you know, Jonathan and David had this very exclusive friendship.

They were the best of friends and Jonathan had nothing but respect for for David and David for Jonathan Jonathan knew full well that he Jonathan wasn't going to succeed his father as the king. But the David what he knew that he understood that and he loved him anyway, and they had this wonderful relationship to one another but Saul loathed David hated him and when he found out that his own son Jonathan was expressed such loyalty to David that Saul in his jealous fury Tried to take Jonathan's life throwing this the spear Trying to pierce Jonathan through and send him to into eternity.

Oh how destructive how Absolutely destructive is this sin of jealousy and as we talked the other day We want to make sure that we don't allow it to fester in our hearts in any way shape or form but the other thing I wanted to look at it was this situation with David when he He goes to Himalaya the the priest and He he deceives him he's not Honest with him.

He tells him the king has sent him on a mission and he's left so quickly that he didn't even have time to get food and supplies for his men and even weapons and Can can Himalaya help him out? And of course the priest gives him the bread that's the bread from the table of showbread and gives him Goliath's sword and Sends him on his way.

He's been he's been hoodwinked him like has you know, if David had told him completely the truth Him like still might have helped him. We don't know. And and maybe he would have maybe he wouldn't have but there is there are some consequences that are coming down the road.

The Consequences of David's Deception

For David's deception here and tricking a Himalaya into helping him and you know even though David was a was a generally a good man and You know, he was God's choice to take over Saul's reign. He had his moments of Fear and desire of self-preservation and that led him to To make some questionable if not wrong Choices and I think this is one of those.

How much better it would have been if he came to him a lot and he said look, you know Saul is filled with fury and jealousy against me. I I have to escape I need to find protection and all of my men here and I are we're starving.

Can you help us out? Maybe that a Himalaya could have said oh man, I can't do that. He'll kill me if I help you. I just can't help you and Well, okay, then David and his men have to go somewhere else and have to figure out something else to do.

But a Himalaya and his family would have survived the wrath of a wicked King. It's not David's fault that Saul was filled with wrath and rage and ended up taking him elect and his family's life but you know David set him up and Set up the conditions that made it easy for Saul to lash out in such a way.

Honesty as the Best Policy in a Culture of Distrust

You know, there's that old adage honesty is the best policy and it is true. It really is. It may not always be The most convenient thing for us. May not always get us what we want. But in the long run it is the best policy.

So I think the challenge for us is when we're tempted to Fudge on the truth because we think it'll be better off for us. We'll get we'll get up. We'll get what we want that way. Life will be easier for us that way in the long run.

It could very well come back to bite us now honesty really is the best policy and and I hope that Just seeing this situation with David and then in a couple of days in our reading we'll see the consequences of this thing that We'll just see how important it is just to be truthful just to be honest, you know.

We're living in a we're living in a period of time in our nation's history when our Confidence in the truthfulness that's coming through the media The mainstream media coming from our government officials is At an all-time low.

I mean it is at all-time low. You can't really hardly believe anything that's coming out of the mouth of any official. I mean, that's the way we feel because it's like We're hearing disparate voices we're hearing Contradictions they said one thing one day and then it turns out that that was a lie that wasn't true the next day and and and we're left frustrated and and Where is all this gonna end?

Where is it all that's gonna lead? Well Let's let David's mistake. Give us some insight. Give us some understanding. It doesn't end. Well to some policy of dishonesty. For the even for the sake of saving image.

It doesn't end. Well Let's be truthful people Father in heaven help us help us to be honest Truthful forthright we pray in Jesus name. Amen. All right. We'll have a good Rest you Friday first day of October and good weekend a wonderful day Lord's Day Again, Ron Burnett gonna be speaking at the Faith Baptist Sunday morning and evening Lord willing.

Hope you can make it if If that's if at all possible, so have a good day. God bless.