In my previous post Self deception I covered a few ways that we may deceive ourselves and today I want to talk about another way that we often deceive ourselves that can have a detrimental affect on us. It is the topic of our sins. Lets take a closer look at what I mean.

When We look at Adam and Eve and their sin in the garden we can see how Satan uses self deception as an attack on us. Because he was able to get Adam and Eve to bite the fruit that God told them not to eat he was able to ruin the self image/ identity that they had of themselves. All of the sudden they were ashamed of themselves and hid themselves from God because they thought that the sin had changed the way that God viewed them. The same is often true for us now days. When we sin we think that changes God’s view of us and we become filled with shame, guilt, regret, and condemnation. We think that our behavior determines our identity but it’s actually our identity that determines our behavior.

When we view ourselves as a sinner, a bad person, or just can’t seem to do right, that is how we are going to act. We deceive ourselves into thinking that we either deserve less or can’t do better because we view ourselves as less than our true worth and value. We can only live up to what we believe in ourselves to be able to be. And if Satan can get us to deceive ourselves by believing that we don’t measure up, that we are displeasing to God, that we don’t matter, or that we have to act perfect before God will accept us then he has won the attack. We will never be who God created us to be or have the close relationship with Him that He wants to have with us if we don’t believe that we are already loved and accepted by Him despite our imperfections, our weaknesses to the sinful nature, our sins, or our disobedience. All of the human nature part of us has been covered by the righteousness of Jesus and that is why and how we can view ourselves as being OK with God and with endless possibilities through Jesus.

I have often heard the phrase, “sin has separated you from God” being said and for years I thought it was so. But I recently heard a sermon on that topic and was given a greater explanation of what that phrase really means. Yes, we may feel that we have become distant from God after sinning, but it is another way that we are deceiving ourselves. It is not the act of sin that has caused the separation. Because we have guilt, shame, and condemnation due to our sinning, we ourselves begin to lack in our connecting with God. Because we view ourselves in a negative way we feel that God must view us that way too. Self-deception.

We forget about the mercy and grace that God provides to us so that we can stay in close connection with Him even after sinning, or to be able to come back into a close relationship with Him after falling away. His grace is what enables us to continue to be viewed as righteous even when we have been bad. Our relationship doesn’t have to be affected by our sins or actions. God doesn’t want that to happen and that’s why He provides His grace and mercy. It is only by our own condemnation and pulling away because of shame and guilt that our relationship weakens. Self deception causes us to believe that our relationship has been damaged or broken and that is a lie.

If self deception can damage such precious thing as our relationship with God just think of all the other damage that can be done by it. Think about it… We ’cause our own inner turmoil, uneasiness, unhappiness, and etc. by the lies that we tell ourselves or the truths that we do not accept. The Bible says that it is the truth that will set us free and I do believe that. However, it may not be easy to face the truth that we need to face in order to be set free. Whatever the reason to why it is so difficult to face we can face it head on with the power of Jesus on our side. With the truths of the fact being that we are forgiven, that Jesus paid the price already, that God loves us, that he knows that we cannot be perfect and accepts us anyways, and that he can work all things out for the good of those who love him, we can face our truth. If God doesn’t condemn us why are we condemning ourselves? Why do we view ourselves in a negative way when all God sees is the precious child with endless possibility that He formed in our mothers womb? And why do we think that anything that we do is a surprise to God when He already knows every single thing that we will ever do throughout our entire lives? Self-deception.

Can you begin to imagine the amount of peace, joy, contentment, and self-acceptance that you can have if you will stop deceiving yourself into thinking that you do not measure up to what God expects of you? Can you begin to feel the closeness of Him by accepting the truth that you will never not be loved and accepted by Him? Can you accept the fact that it is only by your own false beliefs that you have become distant from Him, accept the grace that is offering you, and run back to Him. He is waiting…….