The Counterfeit and God’s Silence : The Business of Christian Education LXXIII

¹⁶  But to the wicked God says:

“What right have you to recite my statutes

or take my covenant on your lips?

¹⁷ For you hate discipline,

and you cast my words behind you.

¹⁸  If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,

and you keep company with adulterers.

¹⁹  “You give your mouth free rein for evil,

and your tongue frames deceit.

²⁰  You sit and speak against your brother;

you slander your own mother’s son.

²¹  These things you have done, and I have been silent;

you thought that I was one like yourself.

But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

²²  “Mark this, then, you who forget God,

lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!

²³  The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;

to one who orders his way rightly

I will show the salvation of God!”

Psalm 50:16-23

           

            This particular passage is quite a shocking revelation.  Outward appearances and deeds won’t be able to give any clue about the real motive or character of a person.  In human wisdom, judging one’s motive or character is always difficult.  Often, even the most experienced people got it wrong.  The wrong conclusion can be explained simply by the fact that outward appearances or deeds can be faked.  In the east especially, with its saving face culture, such faking skill is one of the top skills to master.  In the eastern culture, that skill is not seen as a bad one.  And it is not considered a faking skill.  But it is instead considered a virtue.  It is a virtue because it honors your parents, family, ancestors, and most importantly it honors anyone you deal with.  That skill is better mastered sooner than later.  Putting up a good appearance and deed is
desirable in the society.  When society judges a person’s character and motive, it does not have any other things to work with except the outward appearances and the deeds.  No wonder so often we got it wrong.  Someone who appears very good and even who has done so many good things, might keep a shocking hidden secret.

            The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang Di, was very well known for his accomplishment to unite the whole of China and the building of one of the wonders of the world, the Great Wall.  In terms of his unification of China, every single thing he did up to his declaration as the first emperor of China was always considered as great and good things.  One of the most common interpretation of his decision to engage in the war with the other six states was that he wanted China to have peace.  Thus the rationalization was that war was necessary in order to keep the peace.  If there was only one state, then peace could be maintained.  Peace would no longer be a dream, but it was at the tip of everyone’s finger.  The unification of all China was the platform for achieving what Chinese people often call as “Ping Tian Xia”, which means Peace Under Heaven or Peace On Earth.  His accomplishments, outward appearances, and deeds were great that he was one of the most highly honored emperors in the history of China.  However, how can one truly know his motive and character?  Was he really doing it for peace?  Or was he doing it for his greed?  Was he a righteous person?  Or was he a wicked person?  The secret of his character and motive could not be known merely by what he accomplished, or by his outward appearances, or by his deeds.  Such outward things could mislead people very easily.  No wonder, even until now, after more than two thousand years has passed since Qin Shi Huang Di unified China, nobody could come to a definite conclusion of what his motive was and what was his character.

Psalm 50:16-23 reveals the truth that even though motives and characters could be hidden, God knows our inner being.  No one can hide from God.  To the wicked God asked: “What right have you to recite my statutes or take my covenant on your lips?  ¹⁷For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.  ¹⁸If you see a thief, you are pleased with him, and you keep company with adulterers.  ¹⁹ “You give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.  ²⁰You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother’s son.”  The first question pierces the heart.  For the wicked has no right whatsoever to recite God’s words.  But in human limited knowledge, we think that when someone recites God’s word, we consider him/her a righteous person.  Reciting God’s words can’t be the standard for judging one’s character.  Then God reveals the truth.  The truth about the things that the wicked actually feel about God’s words.  He/she hates God’s words.  For the wicked actually loves stealing and committing adulteries, is deceitful and a master of slander.  Outward appearances, good deeds, and accomplishments can easily hide all the evil motives and wickedness one has in front of other people.  But not before God.  For God judges not the outward appearances, but God sees the inside of man.

            Someone with great power is even more dangerous in his/her words.  His/her words about other people can easily become slander, which leads to a very destructive end.  Things can turn into worse very quick with hidden motive of the person in power.  The person in power is trusted because of his/her position, and thus his/her words usually are less filtered.  His/her character drives the words and the use of the words being spoken.  With evil intent, even the smoothest words can do a huge damage.  Nobody may realize how wicked someone can be.  The smooth words combined with power and reputation can hide the wickedness of the heart.  Human wisdom can’t detect it.  But God can detect it.  No smooth words, or power, or reputation, can hide human intention and character from God’s piercing eyes.  He knows!  Then he said: “²¹These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself.  But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.  ²²“Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!”  God’s silence should not be interpreted as an approval from him.  In this case, his silence should be understood as him being patient waiting for such person to come back to his/her senses.  But when such person never comes back, God then brings his accusation.  His punishment would then destroy them beyond repair.  This is a warning.  When a warning comes from God, everyone must pay careful attention.  Especially those who fake goodness in order to hide their wickedness.  Be careful!

            But for the righteous, God is merciful.  He said: “²³The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”  The righteous does not manipulate God’s words for his/her own gain.  The righteous acknowledges God’s work and thanks him for all that he does for him/her.  The righteous is careful in his/her life so that he/she will not harm others.  A righteous person won’t fake goodness to hide his/her wickedness.  But a righteous does goodness in order to please God.  Thus, for these people, God will show his salvation.  And there is nothing better than the salvation of God.

            The ordering of one’s life according to God’s will is the standard for righteous life.  This means that one can’t just recite God’s words.  One must follow the recitation of God’s words with practicing God’s words.  Jesus’ parable about the wise builders in Matthew 7 points out this truth very clearly.  A builder is wise if he/she builds on a rock.  A rock is strong and will hold the house in place.  When wind and rain come, the house stands still.  But the unwise builds the house on sand.  Sand is moving and continuously changing.  Wind and rain come and the house on sand is destroyed beyond repair.  The building of the house on a rock is the practice of God’s words.  The building of the house on sand is a reflection of merely reciting God’s words.  The wicked merely recites God’s words.  They do not have any interest in God’s words.  They use them for their own purpose.  The righteous, on the other hand, since they are so interested, and love God’s words, they put them into practice.  In so doing, they put the words of God to work according to His purpose.  Thus God is glorified.

            It is important to know that only Jesus is able to walk in the path of righteousness in perfection.  All his followers are considered righteous by God through the merit of Christ.  And in Christ Christians may follow his footsteps in the path of righteousness.  Praise the Lord!