Stopping Our Scheming and Lying

 As I have said many times before "Relationships Matter." We are not made to live totally independent lives, like islands in the midst of a sea of people. We are made to be interdependent on others, to have healthy relationships with the people around us. God told Adam that it was not good for man to be alone from the very beginning. However, to have healthy relationships we must do things to grow them and stop doing things that destroy them.

Zechariah saw that the people of his day were doing things that destroyed relationships and even destroyed their society. God gave him a message to deliver to His people which would help to correct this. (Zechariah 8:17) "Don't scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all of these things says the Lord." I believe these two things are being done by many people as a regular part of their lives, and it is hurting them and those around them.

It is amazing how many people think they have to be in control of every situation. They just have to get their way. They may think they are smarter than everyone else, or they may just like to be in charge all of the time. Either way, it causes relationship problems. Then, if they can't control a situation, they create a scheme against the person who won't go along. When others figure out the scheme, they realize that person doesn't really care for others. They just want to get their way. That kills relationships.

Then, there are those people who lie all of the time. It is just a part of their lives. They are trying to create an imagine for other people to see, but that image is based on falsehoods, and they know what they are saying is a lie, but they still love to say it. That is a sign of a very immature person, who has a lack of character and integrity. Other people begin to see this happening over and over, so they realize they can't trust this person. Relationships are built on trust, so this person is left out. Let's not do these things God hates, so we can thrive like He designed us to thrive through relationships.

Tomorrow, I intend to read Zechariah 10-12.