Flattering Rhetoric or Real Hope?

Flossenbürg concentration camp, Arrestblock-Hof: Memorial to members of German resistance executed on April 9, 1945 By Concordiadomi (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

1 After this Absalom got himself a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him. 2 And Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate. And when any man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And when he said, “Your servant is of such and such a tribe in Israel,” 3 Absalom would say to him, “See, your claims are good and right, but there is no man designated by the king to hear you.” 4 Then Absalom would say, “Oh that I were judge in the land! Then every man with a dispute or cause might come to me, and I would give him justice.” 5 And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him. 6 Thus Absalom did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.—2 Samuel 15:1-6

Throughout history, evil tyrants always won the hearts of people through flattering rhetoric and promises of hope. Yet, the true people of God were not deceived because they know that any promise of hope that does not have, at its foundation, Jesus Christ crucified and raised again, is no hope at all. It is just more enslavement to the devil’s ideologies.

We must be careful that we are not deceived by false promises of hope spouted by smoothing-sounding men. The best way to protect ourselves is to know the truth by reading and studying the Word of God every day. The Bible addresses every problem known to man, and the devil has his own “solutions” to those problems also. They often look more attractive to our natural selves, because they require less self-sacrifice and less personal responsibility. Trying to address societal problems with an unbiblical solution only makes matters worse and brings consequences. Let us know the truth and apply it!