“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:40)
Have you seen any of these 5 lies in yourself today?
1. We tie on the “I’m okay” superhero cape and trudge onward.
But that’s not the biblical model. In the Bible, the Psalmist continually cries out for God to search him and test him and examine him so that He can keep doing the necessary renovation work (for example, Psalms 11, 17, and 26). The attitude of Scripture is more like this:
Honestly, admitting daily that we’re not okay and that we need God’s help can be scary. It means owning our weaknesses and doing the hard work of self-examination on a regular basis ... God specializes in weakness
We’re weak. He’s strong. And that’s the best truth there is.
2. We usually start here: No one will ever know.
True, there might be a thousand variations on that theme, but it almost always comes back to anonymity. That’s why private browsing on the Internet and personal devices such as smartphones and tablets can be some of the most dangerous tools known to humanity.
2. We also like to tell ourselves that no one will get hurt.
If it’s behind closed doors, if it only involves two responsible adults, if it only impacts me, then it’s got to be okay.
We don’t take into account that God Himself is grieved and pained by our bad choices.
3. Often, the easiest way out of dealing with a destructive pattern in our lives is simply to make it an acceptable or unchangeable part of who we are.
Whether we see it as a part of our nature or simply as something we “can’t fix,” this lie helps us avoid feeling responsible. We can’t stop it because it’s just too deeply embedded.
What we don’t like to admit is that God is the one who made us. We were intended to look like, act like, and be like Him (Genesis 1:27; 1 John 3:2).
By saying its “just the way I am” means that God messed up or was taken by surprise by our struggles. We’re really just saying that He can’t change us.
4. I'll do it "Tomorrow"
Tomorrow is the time for Bible study, for that new morning prayer routine, for that meeting with our pastor or Christian friend. Tomorrow is when we’ll tell our spouse the truth. Tomorrow is when we’ll get honest with God.
But—and this is the truth—many times that “tomorrow” never comes.
“So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…” (Psalm 95; Hebrews 3)
Telling yourself that you’ll make a change tomorrow certainly makes you feel better about today’s failures, but it rarely ever changes us. We must remember that a lack of commitment to change today comes with a steep price!!
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:13)
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