Walking with the Wise #495: Masquerading Motives

“People may cover their hatred with pleasant words,


but they’re deceiving you.

They pretend to be kind, but don’t believe them.

Their hearts are full of many evils.
While their hatred may be concealed by trickery,

their wrongdoing will be exposed in public.”
—Proverbs 26:24-26 (NLT)

We are pretty good at reading people. We know that what someone says is not always true. Surprisingly, it’s a skill that we’ve acquired on our own without any help needed from parents or teachers, and we begin to show it about the time words come out of our mouths!

Though lying is something we didn’t need to be taught, how we lie is an acquired skill. We know how to say something in such a way and not mean it. We can smile at someone, give them a compliment, but hate them in our hearts. It’s like the song “Masquerade” from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, a metaphor that captures the true condition of our hearts:

“Masquerade! Seething shadows breathing lies
Masquerade! You can fool any friend who ever knew you.”

We know how to fool people and we’re not alone. There is not a corner in our culture where deception does not occur—home, work, government, church, etc. Because of our propensity to deceive, we have learned how to detect it in others—we’ve become accustomed to reading faces, inflections, body language, etc. And we know that what a person says, and even how they say it, may not be a true representation of how they really feel.

Today’s proverb advocates using discernment to uncover whether or not the power of deception is being employed through compliments and flattery as a means of covering evil intent. It also serves as a reminder that such trickery will eventually be discovered for what it is. A person bent on evil toward another person can only hold onto their hate so long before it becomes apparent to others.

Our responsibility is to be honest and forthright. Or as my mother wisely used to say, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” It’s better to say nothing than to say something that is not true, especially whenever you are using words to get something from them, or using your words as a covering for your intent to do them great harm.

Understanding that God desires truth and honesty, we must constantly monitor our motives. Why are we complimenting a person? Is it honest? Do we mean it? Or are we trying to deceive? Be honest, use your words wisely, but don’t use them as a covering for evil—knowing that doing so denigrates the name of Christ and weakens our testimony (not to mention it hurts our brother or sister). Love them enough to be fair and honest in how you speak with them—for God’s glory and your joy. Amen.