This morning my friend asked me:
What is the antidote to deception ?
I am so glad he asked.
When we are deceived we are believing something other than the truth. Jesus explains to us that He himself is the Truth. As John (via Holy Spirit) expresses that: He, Jesus, is the Word of God become flesh to dwell among us. From the very beginning of mankind in the Garden of Eden, we have been making choices. The choices in their essence all come down to this: Will I choose to believe in the character of the loving God who created me or will I choose to believe a deceiver who tells me I will improve my life by trusting in my own ability to gain knowledge ? This was the choice satan in the form of the serpent presented to Eve and then through her to Adam. Thus, we see that in all his dealings with mankind satan has always been a deceiver. And we see those who have been deceived by satan also join him in deceiving others. Moreover, not only do satan and other people choose to deceive us, we also choose to deceive our selves.
In this place of deception, we readily fall into the situation Paul describes in the first chapter of Romans. There Paul points out the fundamental nature of all sin. We choose to ascribe to things that have been created the glory that belongs to the Creator God. Thus we glorify our money, our power, our sexual relationships, our drugs, our alcohol, our accomplishments, our intellect, and the gods we have created. And we are supported in these deceptions by satan and his hoard of demons. In many cases we become so enthralled in these self delusions that we give control of ourselves over to them in addictions and other self destructive behaviors. As James points out, when we follow our desires in these ways the end result is death. If we continue the self deluded path all forms of death come — emotional death, social death, intellectual death; spiritual death as well as physical death.
When we look at this behavior objectively, it becomes apparent it is our pride that made it all possible. To use the expression once attributed to satan: I will be like the most high God. Or the expression of the poet: I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul. Like Eve, we want to believe that the knowledge of good and evil will empower us to live independent of the Creator God. We will not need to hear Him to make our decisions because our knowledge will be sufficient for us. Indeed, we are so religiously committed to this idea that many of us gather on Sunday mornings to hear further instruction about how to distinguish between good and evil so that we can make better decisions without hearing God.
Our pride keeps us relying on our knowledge. And our enemy, satan, keeps planting in our minds deceptions that lead us further and further from simply trusting the Creator God who loves us and wants to lead us into intimate relationship with and knowledge of Him who is the Truth.
So then, we come back to the question, What is the antidote to deception ?
The antidote is simple. Its application must be constant and repeated.
The first step is to get away from the enemy who is constantly seeking to further deceive you. Humble yourself under the powerful hand of God and the enemy will flee from you.
Second, accept the truth, the Creator God has chosen to love you and you can trust Him to guide you into truth. Yes, this too requires you to humble yourself and believe Him. He loves you so much that in the person of Jesus, He came and paid the penalty for ALL your mistakes, failures, and wrong choices. He desires to fill you with His Holy Spirit who will give you access to hearing revelation from Him and power to overcome the deceptions in your life.
Third, humble yourself again and look for a person who humbly walks with God, who is willing and able to share with you the benefits of his/her experiences with Jesus, Holy Spirit, and Papa God.
Fourth, humble yourself and ask. Ask God. Ask a humble follower of Jesus. Ask whatever honest questions you have.
Honest questions ? Yes honest questions ! People ask two very different kinds of questions. Honest questions are ones which will make a difference and to which we do not know the answers. Other questions are ones behind which we hide. For example: At one time theologians debated how many angels could dance on the head of a pin. Even if they found the correct answer, what difference would it have made ? Or, a husband might ask, should I carry the garbage out or should I sit down and watch television ? If he loves his wife, he already knows the answer.
Continual doses of genuine humility are the antidote to deception.
One final thought about humility: Genuine humility is never in denying the greatness of who God has made you to be nor in denying the value of the gifts of God in you. Rather true humility is in knowing that every good thing in you or about you is an undeserved gift from God and you can take no pride in having received it.
His, thus Yours,
Stuart
His-Family 