DON’T DECEIVE YOURSELF

Thursday: September 3, 2020

1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

“Deception is an act or statement which misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage”. This is a rather long definition but we might simply equate it to ‘the act of hiding truth to gain an advantage.’ Thus, the definition alone presents an interesting inference that the person who deceives does so from the perspective of knowing the truth but opting to present an alternative to that truth.

So Paul writes ‘let no man deceive himself’. Contrary to the expected normal that others are deceived, individuals could very well deceive themselves- and that includes you and I. When we intentionally close our eyes to known truth, refuse to acknowledge the outcomes of particular realities and ignore the influence of situations around us, we might very well already be in the boat of self-deception.

It might appear very similar to, or even mimic faith, because in self-deception we will say all is well, when all isn’t really well. We may say ‘we can go it all alone’, when we clearly need the support of others; we might even declare a premature victory by at the peak of an intense battle. Beloved, self-deception would cause us to close our eyes to the very situations which demand our utmost attention.

Today’s message is a clear and straight forward warning ‘don’t deceive yourself’. But mind you, also be careful so that in avoiding self-deception, you do not close your eyes of faith.

#sly