Duplicity
“Let us be aware of these consequences when we make solemn agreements, no matter whether they are vows to God or to our fellow men. All thoughts, actions, and agreements are made in the sight of the Lord (Jeremiah 41:15). Duplicity never escapes His notice. The Lord Jesus warns, “There is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops” (Lk 12:2-3). By our words, contracts, and deeds, we are accountable to God; in the end, we cannot get away with fraud or duplicity of any sort.” (OCPM 11/1/2016)
What are the implications for us of Jesus’ teaching on the heart? First, we may fool ourselves or others, but we can never fool God. Once again, duplicity was certainly known to the Hebrews: "Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak." (Ps.11: 2)…God can see if we are holding back in any way, that is to say, as the Native American proverb goes: “If we are speaking with forked tongues.” (Father George Morelli)
“Nothing so completely baffles one who is full of trick and duplicity himself, than straightforward and simple integrity in another." (Charles Caleb Colton)
“If you wish to draw the Lord to you, approach Him as disciples to a master, in all simplicity, openly, honestly, without duplicity, without idle curiosity. He is simple and uncompounded. And He wants the souls that come to Him to be simple and pure. Indeed you will never see simplicity separated from humility.” (St. John Climacus)
“The Lord’s way is our only salvation from the outcome that duplicity surely brings.” (OCPM 11/1/2016)