https://youtu.be/PSoEyPzjV54

Dealing with difficult people 2 sam 16:1-14

First difficult person- Ziba

In this story- Ziba is the servant of Mephiboseth- You may remember him from earlier sermonsMephibosheth was son of Jonathan, Grandson of King Saul- Ziba comes to David to bring him provisions for him and his men. David has no reason to think anything is awryZiba has shown up with provisions to help David- so david gives him what belongs to mephibosheth3 Then the king said, “And where is your master’s son?” And Ziba said to the king, “Indeed he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’ ”Here’s the problem tho- Ziba was lying. We’ll find that out in 2 sam 19. Mephibosheth says in v 26 “O king, my servant deceived me.”Ziba told Mephibosheth and lie and then told David a lie to cover up his lie. He was a liarMephibosheth assumed his servant was honorable, and so did David- Why wouldn’t he?But he wasn’t He was a self-serving miscreant. Most agree he wanted to be seen as the last heir to Saul so he could claim land and influence.That’s why liars typically lie- they want influence, valuables, or notoriety to get the former.You probably already know this- but God doesn’t like liars or lies.Proverbs 19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies shall perish.Psalm 101:7 He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.Jesus even went so far to say in John 8:44 that Satan is the father of lies.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.What does it mean to you?First off- Don’t be a liar. No one likes a liar. There’s no need to lie, but people do it for many reasons- Protect their image, denigrate another (to increase their image), Deflect attention to someone else, And just like Ziba- be trying to influence you so they can get what they wantDon’t be that person. Don’t be a liar. The problem with a liar, is that you can never trust them.But what should you do to the liar? Expose them? Always be distrustful? No- Be you.Love the liar- Liars are people too- God will deal with them- You don’t have to work it so hard4 So the king said to Ziba, “Here, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.”And Ziba said, “I humbly bow before you, that I may find favor in your sight, my lord, O king!”David took Ziba at his word- He gets found out in 2 sam 19- but David can’t worry about itWho Ziba is will be found out eventually- and so will every liar in your life- And if you’re a liar, you will be found out as well. It just takes time. Liars can never keep their stories straightLove em- 1 Cor 13:7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.If your heart is in the right place- you probably get lied to all the time- because you are not cunning Titus 1:15 To the pure all things are pure,Now- some will say- what if I KNOW they are lying- deal with it accordingly- I’m just saying-

you cant live your life thinking everyone is lying to you- being a sleuth- let God deal w them

If you find out someone is lying- love em anyway- Don’t trust em- but love em,1 Pet 4:8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”Prov 25 21-22 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the Lord will reward you.

Second difficult person- Shimei the son of Gera