Sons of the devil

“A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech,”
-Proverbs 6:12

Who would you think of if I used the phrase, “a son of the devil?” I think we would immediately think of the worst people on earth, wouldn’t we? Maybe we wouldn’t even want to think of a person in those terms at all. Maybe we would shy away from calling even the worst human beings such a phrase.

This passage to me is so interesting because of how Solomon describes the evil men of whom he speaks. Their sins are very subtle sins. Unlike other places in Scripture where the evil are described as being murderous and laying in wait to rob people, this “worthless person” sins with mere lies and false dealings. We’re not talking about a tyrant here; we’re talking about a deceptive salesman!

More than that, we’re talking about us. We so often use words to our advantage. Sometimes, we will just flat out lie. Sometimes, we will just withhold truth. Sometimes, we will just tilt what we’re saying by the words we use. Telling your boss “I suggested that our customer may be able to find such products at another location” has a different ring to it than, “I yelled at the customer to get out and never come back!” I’ll admit it – I’ve done that. (Not those exact words, but I’ve manipulated the language to look better than I am.) I’ve been questioned one a decision I’ve made, and I’ll try to word it in the best way possible.

We use our tongues for gossip and slander, and usually we don’t even think about it.

You may be wondering how this makes us children of the devil. While this translation is very accurate, it loses something in the translation. “Worthless” here uses the Hebrew word “beleyah’al.” We may better recognize it as Belial. The word literally means worthless, but it also, over time, became another name we use for Satan. We can see this use in 2 Corinthians 6:15.

I don’t think that Solomon was intending that primarily, and yet it is a phrase that Jesus Himself threw against a group of Jews when they were trying to kill Him. The reasoning He gives for using such a phrase is interesting:

Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.
-John 8:43-47

When we lie, gossip, slander, and generally use “crooked speech,” do we reflect Christ, or Belial?

We can see how truly serious even the common sins are when viewed in those terms. In truth, every lie is a rebellion against God. We are following the ways of Satan rather than of Christ. These things are so common that we tend to blow them off. Don’t do that. Don’t blow it off, because God doesn’t.

If we are to walk in truth and light, then we will walk with an honest tongue. That’s harder than it sounds, and yet by the Blood of Christ we will be forgiven when we stumble, and by the power of the Spirit we will be better conformed to the image of Jesus. So watch your tongue, knowing that it is God working within you.

If you have not been saved, perhaps this better understanding of the sin of lying will show you how critical it is that we have a Savior. You cannot earn God’s favor, but He loves us to much that He sent His Son to die for the sins of those He saves. Repent of your sins and believe in He who died for you, and you too can be saved.