Lies.

We’ve all been lied too.

We’ve all believed a lie.

If we are honest with ourselves, we’ve all told a lie.

For a few years in my 20’s, I told a lot of lies.  

It’s amazing how one little lie can set off a chain of lies and cause so much trouble, isn’t it?

When I look back over my story, I can see there were so many times when I not only told lies, but I also bought into lies. They changed the way I thought and behaved; never for the better. The lies were so subtle and looked so good, it wasn’t obvious to me that I was believing a lie.

Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44) is the master of deception. His lies are cloaked in small elements of truth, but are a distorted and destructive version of truth that always leads to death. What he sells looks so much like truth that if you aren’t careful, you won’t notice it’s a lie.

But that’s his plan; to deceive us into believing something less than what God has for us.

You know why I couldn’t tell the truth from the lies? I wasn’t immersed in truth. I didn’t read the Word on a regular basis. The Bible is THE ultimate authority on truth. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is TRUE and to make us realize what is WRONG in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

I missed out on the blessing of discernment between truth and lies because I shortchanged my time in the Word. I didn’t make it a priority. And you know what? You can’t cheat the grind. There is absolutely no shortcut to doing the work of spending time in God’s word. If you want to know truth, open the good book. Nothing can replace it.

Nothing.

When FBI agents are trained to spot counterfeit money, do you know what they study? The real thing. They study the real money so intensely and so vigorously that they can immediately spot a fake bill when they are presented with one. They know the real money so well, the fake version is obvious.

It’s like that with truth. If we spend time in God’s word, we will be able to tell the truth from the lies. It will be obvious.

After dedicating significant amounts of time to being in the word, I can pinpoint SO MANY LIES that I believed that led to my downfall. Here are 5 of the most destructive:

1. If I can just make everything look perfect on the outside, I will be OK. FALSE. I tried this for years; striving for the perfect house, perfect wardrobe, perfect body, perfect whatever was in front of me. It didn’t help. Perfecting the cover-up doesn’t fix the mess. It led to depression, an eating disorder, financial strain, and exhaustion. Striving to look good on the outside is like chasing the wind. The truth is that I need to turn inward, to my heart, when I am broken; so that God can fix me.  
2. Having the best stuff will make me happy. FALSE. Maybe, for like a split second, but then the emptiness returns and the need for something else arises. Do you know what having the latest designer purse does for your problems? Not a thing. A Pottery Barn living room? Nothing. I tried buying all.the.stuff but was still miserable. Nothing changed. Material possessions are only a distraction, not a solution. They are a quick fix that always falls short. The truth is that the unrelenting love of God is the only thing that fills the longing of the soul.
3. I shouldn’t have to endure this, I deserve to be happy. FALSE. I thought that if God loved me, he would help things go well for me. I wanted happiness above all else. Every time something went wrong, I was angry at God. The Word tells us something so radically different than this: it tells us that we should consider it pure JOY when we face trials of any kind. We should be thankful for them. We should expect them. Because God uses them to make us more like him: trials purify us, strengthen our faith, and draw us closer. The truth is I shouldn’t aim for happiness, which is fleeting. I should aim for fulfilling his purpose for me instead, even though it includes suffering.
4. It’s not my fault. FALSE. I was certain I was I not the one to blame for the circumstances I found myself in: I was a victim. It was easy for me to be able to point my judgemental finger at others for the mess that was my life. I was blinded by pride. I couldn’t see the role that I played in the destruction of my own life. I lacked humility; therefore I didn’t examine my own heart, or yield to God’s correction or repent. I didn’t take responsibility for my sin. The bible says ALL have sinned. Everyone screws up; including me. The truth is its almost never exclusively someone else’s fault.
5. I don’t need to read the bible. FALSE. I had been a Christian my whole life, and figured I’d heard most of the stories in it already. Did I really need to read them again? I went to church, volunteered, and hung out with other Christians. Sometimes, I read Christian books or devotionals and thought, good enough. Except it wasn’t. The Bible is the inspired, life changing, power of God for us. It always speaks. It always gives life. It always has power. It can convict us, change us, fill us, and move us. The truth is that there is no shortcut to spending time in the word. No book or Christian activity can take its place.

Lies.

There are so many lies.

Big or small, they do us no good. They always lead to destruction of some kind. I have the witnessed the wreckage firsthand; which is why I am a warrior for truth. Friend, I ask you:

Have you bought into any of these lies?

Can you identify other lies in culture?

Are you familiar enough with God’s word that you can discern the difference between the truth and a lie?

Join me: fight the lies by reading truth. Commit to spending time daily in the bible. Become so familiar with truth that the lies are obvious and look shallow in comparison to the richness and fullness of all that God has prepared for those who love him. That’s the truth.

Thanks for reading! As always, let me know if you need prayer or want to talk. Please visit my website and sign up to receive my free monthly newsletter!