Saturday, March 17, 2012 - What's Wrong with Everybody (Else)?!?

"All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord."

Proverbs 16:2

"A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, 

and a man of understanding is even-tempered." 

Proverbs 17:27

     Last night I watched the first two episodes of "Lie to Me," on Netflix. This television series follows a scientist (Dr. Lightman) who's obsessed with what body language reveals. He examines and compares facial expressions, twitches, hand gestures, body temperature and posture to help the "good guys" get the "liars." 

     At some point in the first episode, an accused person angrily asks Dr. Lightman, his interrogator, "Are you calling me a liar?" The surprising answer? "If you're a homo sapien, then, yes, you're a liar."  Lightman backs his statement with a statistic: "The average person lies three times for every ten minutes of conversation." 

     We do, you know. 
*We deliver words without meaning to other people and to God. 
*We make promises to ourselves, God and other people that we don't keep.  
*We declare things will happen a certain way when, in reality, we have no control.
*We give compliments to cover jealousy.  
*We pretend to be more humble than we are.  
*We claim values we don't flesh out on a daily basis.  
*We bluff, use reverse-psychology, wheedle, and manipulate facts to say what we want to say.  
*We push other people's buttons with wording or tone, but claim innocence or that the hearer misunderstood or is over-sensitive. 
     In the opening scene of the first episode, Dr. Lightman "interrogates" a prisoner to find the location of a bomb, but tells the prisoner to say nothing. Lightman proceeds to ask him questions, saying "Most of what we say isn't with words." In fact, experts in the field claim anywhere from 60 to 93% of what we "say" is without words.  Ouch, but Scripture supports this idea:

He who winks with his eye is plotting perversity;

he who purses his lips is bent on evil."

Proverbs 16:30"

For example,
*Smiling: tight, forced, open, warm, sad, 
*Giving the cold shoulder
*Distancing
*Folding arms
*Scowling
*Relaxing
*Staring blandly
*Glaring
*Grimacing
*Hurrying
*Making eye contact
*Avoiding eye contact
*Rolling eyes, etc., etc. 
     No wonder we have trouble communicating: We spend exorbitant amounts of energy battening down the hatches to hide what we harbor in our hearts.  The goal isn't to be better liars, but to let God swing the doors of our hearts open to begin spring cleaning in there.  

"A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction." 

Proverbs 16:23

Can you imagine the kind of freedom that allows us to relax because we don't have anything to hide?   

"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." 

Proverbs 14:30

"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life,

but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit."

Proverbs 15:4

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful,

but heartache crushes the spirit."

Proverbs 15:13

Lord, God, forgive us for sinning against You by allowing negative emotions to fill and poison us. We can only hide what's wrong from each other, but You know the issues of our heart. Deal with each emotion or notion before it takes root.  Keep us from harboring what isn't lovely, pure or noble.  Flood us with Your Love and, as You wash through us, wash out every unChristlike habit or attitude.  Maybe part of what makes heaven heavenly will be the peace that comes from having pure hearts. May Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In the Name of Jesus Who prayed this prayer and always dealt with the motive and intent of people's hearts instead of their words