“I have called you friends,
For everything that I learned from My Father
I have made known to you.”
John 15:15-16
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish (John 21:4-6).
When Jesus began His ministry He preached, “Repent, turn from sin and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” One day as He was walking along the beach beside the Lake of Galilee, He saw two brothers – Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew – out in a boat fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen.
Jesus called out, “Come along with Me and I will show you how to fish for the souls of men!” And they left their nets at once and went with Him.
A little farther up the beach He saw two other brothers James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, mending their nets, and He called to them to come too. At once they stopped their work and, leaving their father behind, went with Him. (Matthew 4:17-22 TLB).
Listen, Wisdom calls out! Hear as the voice of Understanding is raised. “I call to you, to all of you! I raise My voice to all people, You simple people, use good judgment. You foolish people, show some understanding. Listen to Me! For I have important things to tell you.
Everything I say is right, for I speak the truth and detest every kind of deception. My advice is wholesome. There is nothing devious or crooked in it. My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge.
Choose My instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For Wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare! (Proverbs 8:1-11 NLT).
Yes, God hates every kind of deception. John J. Parsons explains in his article, “The Paradox of Self-Deception,” it is one thing to be deceived by another person, and quite another to “fool yourself: by engaging in self-deception. Of all forms of deception, self-deception is perhaps the worst since the self becomes divided and unable to provide a unified defense against the power of the lie.
When an enemy deceives you, he knows the truth about something and deliberately tries to conceal it from you. He may do this by telling outright lies or by misleading your judgment in some way. This is called “stealing the mind.” Regardless of the deceptive method used, when he defrauds you of the Truth, you become subject to his manipulation and control.
There is a different kind of deception, however, that is more insidious than being misled by an external enemy. This deception comes from within the heart and involves choosing to believe a lie, often for self-serving or self-flattering reasons. “Anyone who thinks they are something when they are nothing deceives themselves,” Galatians 6:3.
Self-deception is a universal condition of mankind. The Scripture declares: “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes” – indicating that by nature we are self-justifying creatures, prone to believe our own “propaganda” and wishful thinking.
We are apt to be biased in our self-examination and ready to excuse ourselves at every turn, rationalizing our behavior and suppressing the truth about ourselves in order to quell the voice of conscience within our heart. When faced with an inconsistency between our behaviors and our romanticized self-image, we often regard ourselves as something other than what we really are. In short, we deceive ourselves.
The remedy for self-deception is honest acceptance of ourselves as God sees us, since “The Lord weighs the heart.” The Hebrew word for “weighs” is “takhan,” meaning to measure, balance, make even, or adjust to a standard.
God’s moral law functions as a “looking glass” of our inward condition, revealing both the divine standard of life required of us and also the truth of our own need for deliverance from ourselves.
It is only through the honest confession of our condition that we will find healing from the “divided self” – and thereby make our way right in the eyes of the Lord. As Yeshua said, ‘You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free,” John 8:32.
May the Lord help us to be honest before Him always!
https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Meditations/Self-Deception/self-deception.html
Deception has various images: Cheating, fraud, double-dealing, treachery, swindling, secrecy, craftiness, hypocrisy….
And as seen so too does denial: refusal, rejection, suppression, repression, discouragement, negative, contradiction, rebuttal, veto, disallowance…It is a powerful means for shunning the Truth.
Terrence Gorski has identified denial patterns:
AVOIDANCE – “I’ll talk about anything but my real problem.”
ABSOLUTE DENIAL – “No! Not me. I don’t have a problem.”
MINIMIZING – “My problems aren’t that bad.”
RATIONALIZING – “If a find a good reason, I won’t have to deal with my problems.”
BLAMING – “If I prove the fault is not mind, I won’t have to deal with my problems.”
COMPARING – “Others are worse than me, my problems aren’t that serious.”
COMPLIANCE – “I’ll pretend to do what you want, if you leave me alone.”
MANIPULATION – “I’ll only admit to my problems, if you solve them for me.”
FLIGHT INTO HEALTH – “Feeling better means I’m cured.”
RECOVERY BY FEAR – “Being afraid of my problems, will make them go away!”
STRATEGIC HOPELESSNESS – “Since nothing works, I don’t have to try.”
DEMOCRATIC DISEASE STATE – “I have the right to destroy myself, no one
has the right to stop me.”
“I, Wisdom, live together with good judgment. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment. All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance and deception, corruption and perverse speech. Common sense and success belong to Me. Insight and strength are Mine. Because of Me, kings reign, and rulers make just decrees. Rulers lead with My help, and nobles make righteous judgments.”
“I love all who love Me. Those who search will surely find Me. I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice. My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, My wages are better than sterling silver! I walk in righteousness, in the path of justice. Those who love me inherit wealth.
I will fill their treasuries,” Proverbs 8:12-21 NLT.
For the wages which sin pays is death,
But the bountiful free gift of God is eternal life
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23 AMP