Psalm 12

In this psalm, David compares the evil person (who employs flattery and deception) with God (whose speech is pure like gold). It seems that everywhere David looks, all he sees is deception: “Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts.” (vs 2)

This is why God doesn’t flatter anyone—because flattery isn’t about communication. It’s about manipulation. And when God talks, He tells the truth. He doesn’t try to manipulate us; He tries to help us understand reality. Sometimes that’s not very pleasant, but it’s better to be stung with the truth than kissed with a lie.

When I was first married, I had to get used to sometimes being “stung” with the truth. When I asked my husband if he liked my hair or my outfit, sometimes he said, “Not really.” I realized very quickly that I wasn’t really asking those questions to hear the truth of what he thought—I just wanted to be flattered! But, even though it took some getting used to, I was very glad he was willing to tell me the truth, and now I have the wonderful assurance of knowing that he’s telling me exactly what he thinks. When he says something, I know he’s not just “telling me what I want to hear.” I know he’s being honest.

So, David admires that about God. But, ironically, I think David may have been indulging in a little flattering thinking, here. His assertion that there was not one righteous person left (besides him, of course) reminded me of Elijah in 1 Kings 19: “And the word of the Lord came to him: ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.’” (1 Kgs 19:9-10) God—in His usual non-flattering way—then proceeded to inform Elijah that He, in fact, had 7,000 faithful people in Israel.

In this instance, we don’t get to see the response of God to David, but at least David recognizes that it is God who embodies true faithfulness: “The words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.” (vs 6)

It is very interesting to read through the Bible—especially the Gospels—and pay particular attention to what God says… and what He doesn’t say. If you read the stories of Jesus again, you’ll notice that He is very judicious in His language. He doesn’t babble on aimlessly, He doesn’t speak foolishly, and He certainly doesn’t flatter.

Instead, He speaks the truth in love—both when it’s hard to hear and when the words fall like water on a parched soul. He knows just the right thing to say at just the right time. And He never holds back. God will not flatter you. He will always tell you the truth.