FORKED TONGUE
Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and who do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. Esther 3:8
If Haman had possessed unlimited power earlier in his life, he might have tried to exterminate the Jews long before this but his stature had been small and his influence limited.
If we want to see the true measure of a person, we just need to begin to observe them when they find themselves in a place of position to wield some power. With final authority in their grasp, their true nature will be revealed. What they value will be promoted and what they hold in disdain will be eradicated. Haman’s twisted agenda made its way from his heart to his tongue. With it, shrewdness surfaced. Forked speech was needed to mask his real intention because he wasn’t the king. His power, though large, wasn’t ultimate. His arguments were slick and the ability to be cunning was enhanced by the power of the devil.
Haman’s speech to the king was masterful. He could have honestly said, “I hate Jews. I want them exterminated!” That, however, would have been too radical. Instead, Haman needed to warm Xerxes up to the idea another way. He twisted the facts with the goal of presenting the Jews as traitors of the crown. He sought to incite the king’s indignation, making it seem that the Jews were committing something mutinous against him.
Never is someone more dangerous than when fueled by the powers of hell. Their charisma deceives the masses. That’s because their natural giftedness for speech and persuasion are fed with supernatural giftedness from the kingdom of darkness. Why would Satan care? Because he hates whatever, and whomever, God loves. He needs warm bodies to do his work – willing participants to carry out evil without a conscience keeping them in check.
The art of posturing an agenda in conversation needs to come under divine scrutiny. The line can be blurred even for believers. There is such a thing as diplomacy and tact but I must remember that posturing should always have the divine good of the listener as its goal. When the Spirit of God directs my words, speech and motives are compatible. But when the deceiver shapes my words, the language will be calculating and the goal will always be ominous and in the shadows.
Help me say what I mean. I lay all my motives on the table, to be viewed in the light of Your holiness. Save me from manipulative speech for my own selfish ends. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Originally published Monday, 08 April 2019.
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