Did you know our own hearts are deceitful? So much that we easily fool ourselves. Jeremiah 17:9 says “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”
Often we are misled by our own deluded heart. Self- deception is common in our fallen world. How often do we act on emotion instead of absolute truth? Falsehood misleads and hides truth, it can even be used for personal gain. The prophet Obadiah identifies arrogance as one of the roots of self-deception: “The pride of your heart has deceived you” (Obadiah 1:3). Human pride always blinds us to truth. It promises honor, but it delivers disgrace: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).
We can sit in church Sunday after Sunday listening to sermon after sermon, but if we never allow the Word we hear preached change us, then we are self-deceived. We can read the Bible from cover to cover, but unless we put its commands into practice, we deceive ourselves. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
Scripture wasn’t given to only produce theologians; it was given “so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:17) James 1:22-25 also says “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
Merely looking in a mirror is not necessarily an appearance-changing experience. The mirror can tell us our hair is a hot mess, but unless we get out the brush and attack the rats nets, the tangles will remain.
To avoid self-deception we must not forget what we have heard, but also be sure we are doing it. Remembering the word, doing the word, and continuing in the word. The word of God will always show us the truth. His word never changes, we don’t alter God’s word to fit our wants and needs. We were created to serve Him, worship Him, and bring honor and Glory to HIM in ALL that we do.
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