by David Brenneman
In reading Jeremiah it's filled with personal accounts by the Lord of how much and how prone Israel and Judah were towards sinning against God.
Mankind is, because of sin, prone to wander. Prone to doing his or her own thing apart from God.
We all face that an don't recognize it as the temptation that it is.
We are tempted to be selfish but won't see it that way. We will see it as fulfilling something in our lives.
Most in recent decades it's seen in social media as seeking the approval of others. There's so many videos of people pushing for acceptance.
People being quite deceived to believe what isn't true about themselves.
It's not just in the lives of those who haven't come to Christ, but in everyone's lives its a temptation. Everyone wants peace, safety, acceptance and prosperity on their own terms.
It's a fleeting thing. The promises of Satan to Jesus that we read were never obtainable. He couldn't fulfill them yet wanted Jesus to believe that he could.
No man or woman is immune towards selfishness. We can all, in a heartbeat, go from one mood to another.
I have seen even Godly people who don't see how they have been quite deceived. I am sure there's things in my life that I don't see as well. It's another key reason to be in an accountability relationship with someone of the same sex as yourself. Temptation says to never let it be of the opposite sex. Man with a man, woman with a woman. Everyone's in need of accountability.
When left to our own desires and devices we will do whatever is best for ourselves.
We, in and of ourselves, will keep an account of the wrongdoings of others. In Christ, in an accountability relationship this would be addressed as something that should not be wise.
We, in and of ourselves, will do things that tarnish our relationship with Jesus and yet excuse it because "it was only done in fun. I am not really that way. I really don't hate this person or that person because they blew a call on the field.".
People who are not yet saved in Christ Jesus will scrutinize and watch those who say that they are saved. They won't see our faults as we think that they will.
There's certainly not enough seriousness by professing Christians to live the Christian life the way that the Father intended it to be lived. Self-deception is a very big reason why.
I have seen on a personal level as well as what the world has seen through the public court of opinion, even Pastors who have given way towards behavior unbecoming a Believer in Christ Jesus who dismiss the seriousness of their calling.
We as Christians are on public display to a lost world. We are to be in Biblical relationships with one another. We are to be bearing one another's burdens. We are to be living lives that say "Jesus lives here, inquire within".
Satan is going to try every sly and subtle method to get everyone distracted from the truths of God’s Word.
It's a certainty.
We will be tempted in every way that can apply to a human being.
It's the reason that being in the Word of God is so important. You won't recognize sin or sinful behavior without knowing what God says about what you are doing or facing.
You won't agree with Him that sin is sin without knowing and understanding what sin really is.
By no means is the most Godly of people immune to the possibility of deceptions.
Prayer is a wonderful way to see what's important in our lives. What and who are you praying about and for?
Are you doing things "all in fun" that really aren't showing a lost world the love of God for them?
When you look in the mirror are you seeing someone who's been seeking your own well-being and happiness ahead of others?
When you look around your home what do you see in what you have surrounded yourself with? What do your possessions say that you believe?
As someone once said, words not spoken do not need to be taken back. When you speak is there reason to try to take those words back? Have you been called out and have, in your shame, tried to defend your wrong behavior?
We are not merely victims of self-deception, it's what sin does. We need a right relationship with Jesus to deal with it. We need to be with other Believers to grow in Christ the way the Father intended and has shown us in the Scriptures. We need to be on our toes about being who we should be in Christ.
In recent weeks I think that this topic is what God's been showing me about me. I have sorely missed what I had with an accountability relationship. I have begun praying for another in this new hometown.
What about you? Are you comfortable going it alone? Are you thinking that you don't need anyone to be accountable with? Oh don't fall for that lie in your life. The Church in the book of Acts prospered because people were in each other's lives.
The challenge is to pray that God would show you where you have been self deceived. It's not an if you have but where you have. Our sin nature will do its level best to disguise its work in us.
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