"Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words" (Proverbs 23:6-8).

It is easy to put on a front before our fellow men. Our text describes such an act of pretense. It might be tempting to heed the pleasant words and outward attractions of one who has evil intentions. But the Scripture warns that the true person is not the front that we see on the outside but what is being thought on the inside.

Even godly leaders can fall prey in this way. As the great prophet Samuel was preparing to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be the future king of Israel, he naturally looked to the biggest and oldest child. "But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart" (I Samuel 16:7).

Jesus condemned the Pharisees for building a spiritual façade to cover inner wickedness: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness" (Matthew 23:27). The believer is strongly warned about some who come dressed up in religious garb that is meant to beguile, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:15). It is imperative to be Spirit led and constantly be discerning, for we know "there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies. . ." (II Peter 2:1). DW