LYING TO OURSELVES
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” I John 1:8.
One of the most common and serious sins among Christians is lying to ourselves. It’s common because it’s so easily done. Jeremiah 17: 9 says “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked and who can know it?” We can’t trust our heart. And Proverbs 3:5 tells us – “lean not unto thine own understanding”. Yet many insist on doing just that.
It’s easy for us to spot sin in others, but we are often blind to our own. Desiring to be seen in the best possible light we do what we can to make them think we’re better than we are. Even when our sin becomes apparent we tend to deny it, excuse it, or call it a mistake, rather than confess it.
The sin of lying to ourselves is serious because it prevents us from confessing and correcting the problems, and that is harmful in several ways. It displeases God, hinders our fellowship with God, robs us of God’s blessings, misleads others, and calls for chastisement.
The only solution to this problem is found in the next verse – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. “ (I John 1:9). Thank God for that! That’s the cure for this common condition. To get clean we have to come clean by facing the facts about ourselves – and the sooner the better! -HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble, Tx.
