Truth...Or Consequences

I think we can agree that we've all been, at one time or another, deceived by someone or something the world has to offer. I remember seeing an infomercial for a band you velcro over your middle section that vibrates & creates a 6 pack in 5 minutes a day, or something ridiculous. But I remember thinking, "Ooh I'd try that." Maybe you signed up for a "rewards card" only to find out they ran your credit and awarded you a credit card? Yes, that's happened to me. Twice. (Ok this is getting embarrassing.) Much of what may come to mind deals with politics. I don't need to get into that. But do you get my point? We are easily deceived.

Yes, I'm sure she got her abs from that band. Riiiiiiiight.

However, when the deception is blatant and obvious, we are much less likely to fall for it. "Fat free, but delicious dessert!" Ya right. We all know a dessert without butter just ain't gonna be good. "Guaranteed to help you sleep on a plane." Ha. No product is going to help you sleep on an airplane. Maybe a 1st class ticket, but that's about it. Ok, my point is that we're not stupid. We don't fall for claims that are outrageous, but we do fall for claims, if they appear legitimate.

Maybe if you took away screaming babies, the passenger to the front, side & rear of you, and the 10,000 ft elevation change, then yes, that pillow might help me sleep on an airplane.

This is the idea behind the first chapter of the book I'm reading, Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. We are consistently being lied to by the "father of lies," yet unless it's an all out ridiculous claim, we're likely to believe it. Think about it. I'm likely to believe advice like, "If you ignore him, he will figure out sooner or later that something is wrong," or "It's not your fault you're that way, you've been deeply hurt by that person." But advice like, "God doesn't expect you to stay in that marriage," or "Just stop paying your mortgage, the bank is too busy to deal with it anyways," I am likely to laugh at!

The problem, DeMoss says, is that "most people have unthinkingly exposed themselves to so much deception that they do not even realize they are being deceived...We simply live our lives, responding to the people, circumstances, & influences around us. It all looks so good; it feels so right; it seems so innocent." We gradually become desensitized to the lies we are listening to. It's not like I started believing overnight that the silent treatment was healthy. It was a progression. I saw it, I considered it, I tried it out, then I lived it out. Yikes. What a subtle lie I believed that has had a huge impact on my life and my relationships.

What are some areas in your life you may be listening to lies? Physical (overeating, substance abuse)? Emotional (anxiety, depression, fear)? Sexual (pornography, lust)? Financial (overspending, greed)? Are you in bondage to the need for approval, taking the spotlight, selfishness, envy, pride, bitterness, anger, addiction? If we want to be free from these, we have to get down & examine the what that makes you believe you have to live that way. "If you want to get rid of poisonous berries, it's not enough to go out & pick all the berries off the bush. The only way to permanently get rid of the poisonous fruit is to pull the bush out from the roots."

So, here we go, examining the depths of the lies that we may believe, and replacing them with the TRUTH. Because doing it God's way is worth it, and satan's way is not. "Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst; he promises honor, and pays with disgrace; he promises pleasure, and pays with pain; he promises profit, and pays with loss; he promises life, and pays with death." ~Thomas Brooks