As it turns out, I’m super good at convincing myself of things.

Things that I would never outright say, or even acknowledge to myself, but when I stop and look at how I live, I see how these non-truths have influenced my life and helped shape me into who I am.

These things I’m talking about could also be called lies.

Lies such as…

• When I work hard I deserve glory and praise. Meanwhile, God’s Word says And that’s how it should be with you. When you’ve done all you should, then say, ‘We are merely servants, and we have simply done our duty.’ (Luke 17:10)
• That if I serve God, my life will have a minimal amount of pain. Meanwhile, God’s Word says, More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)
• That I’m only human, so the sin I let creep into my life is expected. Meanwhile, God’s Word says No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9)
• As long as something isn’t outright sin, I’m justified in doing it. Meanwhile, God’s Word says Stay away from every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:22)
• If I’m doing better than So-and-So I’m doing well. Meanwhile, God’s Word says For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. 

There are truths in each of these lies.

For instance, it is nice when someone commends me for a good job, but that can’t be my driving force. And I’m not above the ability to sin, so I do need to keep a close watch on my life so when I do sin, I can repent right away and be forgiven. And yes, I might have a closer walk with God than someone else. But these partial-truths can be dangerous because they can make me justify my actions and thoughts instead of searching God’s Word for the full truth.

Would I lie to you?

Of course not, I’m an honest person. But am I really an honest person if I lie to myself on a continual basis? Today, I’m working at refuting the lies I’ve allowed into my life with the truth from God’s Word.