| Sometimes
the truth can be a hard thing to swallow, especially when it
means coming to the realization there are things we need to change
in our lives. One of the dangerous things about lying is that
when people tell the lies long enough they can start to believe
they are actually true. The same applies to the lies we tell
ourselves. People often deceive themselves to avoid doing those
things necessary to confront the truth. False teaching, religious
compromise, and personal sin have all found acceptance and even
approval in people's lives through the use of self-deception.
The apostle Peter even spoke of those who would deceive themselves
by twisting the scriptures to their own destruction. He was
speaking of Paul's epistles when he said, "as also in all
his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are
some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people
twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the
Scriptures" (2 Pet. 3:16). Paul spoke of those who "will
not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires,
because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves
teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth,
and be turned aside to fables" (2 Tim. 4:3,4). The New
Testament writers foresaw people would attempt to deceive themselves,
so they gave us numerous warnings of areas we in which should
avoid doing such. Let's examine some of those times we must
be careful not to deceive ourselves. 1. We can deceive ourselves by thinking we are smarter than we really are. Paul said, "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God…" (1 Cor. 3:18-19). When we rely on our own wisdom to guide our spiritual lives, instead of the revealed wisdom of God, we deceive ourselves. 2. We can deceive ourselves when we are only hearers of God's word. James wrote, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22). We deceive ourselves when we think hearing the word is enough. We must act on what we hear and learn through faithful obedience. James went on to say, "But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does" (James 1:25). 3. We can deceive ourselves by saying we have no sin. The apostle John wrote, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). We must realize that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Some think they have no sin because they deny what sin really is. Some deceive themselves when they become self-righteous. Regardless, we have all sinned and continue to do so. We make God a liar when we say we have not sinned (1 John 1:10). 4. We can deceive ourselves by believing we are faithful when we can't control our tongues. James wrote, "If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless" (James 1:26). Our faithfulness is displayed by the things we say and do. If the words coming out of our mouths do not match the feelings we are trying to have in our hearts, we are really deceiving ourselves. -Ed |