Leviticus 14

Matthew 26:51-75

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:6

Have we ever meditated on what the opening verse of this devotion is telling us? This is a game-changing verse to understanding God’s love because it says that love has boundaries, a moral compass that is fixed on and informed by God’s will. It acknowledges that there is good and evil in the world; there is truth and there is deception. Love will not indulge in or delight in, entertain, or minimize the impact or consequences that come attached to behaving in an evil way. Instead, it will speak truthfully about its consequences. Love resists deception and will dismantle the lies that we are holding onto and have wrapped our lives around.

Love does not affirm everything that comes into our lives as true or good. It can sometimes restrict our desires because, in our culture, we often hear people talk about love as affirming everyone and the choices they make. But biblical love does not affirm everything as true or good. It makes a distinction between what is true and what is deception, not because it wants to ruin our fun or cramp our life but to set us free from the lies or sins that are keeping us bound from who we are meant to be.

If we are a parent, we are called to help our children understand what is good, evil, truth and deception. In the Old Testament, when the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land, Moses told the fathers, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19). We can reinterpret Moses as saying, “Take this Word and get it into your head, get it into your heart. Let it inform what you do and how you live out your calling.” But not only to ourselves, we are also to talk to our children about it in every moment of every day, whether we are lying down or walking or getting up. The Word of God must inform our every step.

As parents, we are given the responsibility to teach our children. The truth is, if we do not inform our children on what is good, evil, truth and deception, the culture around us will, social media will. And one thing we know for sure is that social media, our culture and the world will give them a moral compass that will not align with God’s Word.

May we stand firm on what is good, evil, true and deceptive from the Word of God, teaching them to the next generation.

Father God, help me to be steadfast upon Your Word so that I am able to discern what is good, evil, true and deceptive. Teach me to lead the next generation well. Thank You, Lord.