The Burden of Believing a Lie

“And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man’s word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.” (Jer 23:36 AV)

 The context is very important here.  In verse thirty-four, the false prophet, the carnal priest, and the backslidden people say they will punish the faithful prophet for his message.  They do not appreciate, nor will they follow, the message of the preacher.  They are so upset at the truth they threaten to exterminate the messenger.  Like that is going to change anything.  Then, the LORD tells our preacher to respond with a question.   In verse thirty-five, the prophet is to respond by asking the disobedient the words and nature of the word of the LORD.  If you will not accept the message the LORD gave to me, you tell me, what did the LORD say?  How did the LORD answer your request for His word?  As they responded, we see the consequences the LORD lays upon the disobedient.  Whatever they believe the LORD said, will be their burden to bear.  If they are found out to be wrong, there will be no opportunity to correct it.  It will be too late.  They will bear the burden of believing and preaching a lie.  In the context of Judah and Jerusalem, it was believing and preaching peace when the LORD is preaching judgment.

The factory I worked in, like most factories, had safety hazards.  We had safety coordinators whose job it was to recommend safety procedures to the assembled coordinators who would then make factory-wide safety protocols.  These coordinators were then responsible for taking these protocols to their respective departments, educating their fellow employees, and enforcing the new protocols by writing up those who did not follow them.  We had a coordinator who was also our department EMT.  He had gone through training and was medically qualified to administer first aid.  What was rather ironic was this young man was the worst at following the very protocols he was part of creating.  He would stick his hand in moving equipment.  He would not lock out his line with safety locks.  This would permit someone else the ability to start up a line while it was being worked on.  He repeatedly failed to use safety gloves while working with his utility knife.  Others told him to follow his own rules or something bad was going to happen.  He was young and super-fast in reacting to his environment.  He believed he was impervious to consequences because he had the dexterity to avoid it all.  However, time and chance caught up to him.  And he tore up his hand by sticking it in moving equipment.  His sincere belief did not stop eventual consequences.

Just because we choose to believe a falsehood doesn’t inoculate us against that falsehood.  The LORD is not obligated (in fact it would be against His nature) to accept the fact we believe a lie simply because we hold it sincerely and with, what we assume to be, a pure heart.  A falsehood is a falsehood not matter the spirit or intention for which it is held.  The people of Judah were told if they believe in peace when there was going to be correction, they would bear the burden of that belief.  Part of that burden was a harsher judgment when Babylon did arrive.  When the enemy arrived, Judah was told to surrender and they would be taken into captivity with less severe consequences.  However, because they fought against the king of Babylon, their city was burned, the were taken into custody in a very shameful way, men lost their lives, and leaders lost their prodigy.  It wasn’t pretty.  Many hold onto false beliefs because they believe sincerity is the authority for such a belief.  Things like salvation by faith plus works – false.  Christian liberty means liberty to live as one pleases – false.  Calvinism – false.  No such thing as hell – false.  Salvation by good works alone – false.  God does not judge – false.  The government is the solution to all our problems – false.  There are consequences for believing and preaching lies and it is the faithless that bear their own burden.  God will not excuse our willful ignorance.  There will be ramifications.  Seek the truth and find it.  Only then can we be free from ourselves.