“Eloquent lips are unsuited to a godless fool— how much worse lying lips to a ruler!”

It’s the political season around here. There’s no denying it. These devotions have nothing to do with politics, but occasionally, there’s an example of Solomon’s cautions that applies to that world. I guess that’s not particularly surprising. I recently heard some television personalities talk about how eloquent certain political candidates are. Some have gone so far as to say, “I don’t agree with anything they stand for, but they are so eloquent in their speech and presentation that it’s hard for me not to vote for them.” I’m not sure I understand that entirely, but it is an interesting sign of our times. Persuasive communicators tend to rule the political realm, no matter how foolish or godless their ideas might be. If you’ve read these devotionals for very long, you’ll discover that I am a C. S. Lewis fan. In his approach to speech, Lewis regarded language not as a vehicle to show off a speaker’s intellect or vocabulary, but as a window through which to point toward a clear truth. In his estimation, if speech becomes too decorative, abstract, or inflated, it loses its power to connect with human reality. (AIResource). Solomon and Jesus agree. As a matter of fact, Jesus would use the simplest things to make the most profound connections to the eternal: salt, light, lilies in a field, birds in the air, and so on. Lewis and, ultimately, Jesus also made the profound point that our lives should also speak the simple truth that we share. Today, speak truth plainly. #BeTheEdge

“All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Jesus