Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part, Thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Psalm 51:6
In high school, we studied various of Shakespeare’s plays, including Hamlet. One famous line from Hamlet is this advice to Laertes from his father Polonius: ‘This above all, to thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man’. This is undoubtedly good advice for saint and sinner alike, as it pertains to adopting sound principles for living, and adhering rigidly to those principles. Such a person would treat others honestly and fairly. Unfortunately, the advice came from a man who did not heed his own words: Polonius was a spy, a sneaky back-stabber, and a cheat. There was no truth in his inward parts. No Christian should be like that.
What do we find as we study the life of the Lord Jesus? We find One in whom it was impossible to lie. Here was a Man Who could truthfully proclaim Himself as the Truth. We find One in whom there was no deviation from the absolute holiness and truth of Heaven. ‘Neither was any deceit found in His mouth.’ What a wonderful example for us to seek to follow! How true are our words, and how perfectly honest is our heart? We might be able to deceive those around us, and hide from even our closest friends what our innermost thoughts are. But we can’t deceive God.
Billy Sunday, an evangelist of the past century, used to say that a man’s reputation is what his neighbours know about him, but a man’s character is what his wife and God know about him. Sad to say, but for most of us, our reputation and our character are two different things. So much of our lives are not truthful. I was noticing in the drug store the other day the extensive variety of cosmetic products for enhancing a person’s appearance. Thanks to these products, many of the people you see on the street are able to hide their true appearance and look much younger and more attractive than they really are. There is no truth on the outward parts, let alone in the inward parts. No wonder the Bible proclaims that we are all liars!
God desired, and found, truth in the inward parts as He viewed His Son. Does He find truth in me? In you? -Jim MacIntosh