Buying The Lie
By: Kristen L. McNulty
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I was reading in the book of Romans recently and I came across this verse in chapter one:
"Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies." (Romans 1:25)
The verses following go on to talk about all of the ways that people ended up sinning as a result and when reading this verse before that list of sins, something clicked and just made so much sense. Because isn't the root problem of our sin buying a lie? Let me repeat that verse again:
"Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies."
Isn't that the same problem that we have? We deny the truth, instead believe lies, and as a result end up getting ourselves into situations we have no business being in.
You can eat of the fruit and not die.
The house isn't big enough. The wardrobe not fancy enough.
He will complete you. She will fulfill you.
It's just this once, no one will get hurt.
Those are the lies we believe and they lead us into a world of trouble.
The truth of the matter is, we wouldn't be so quick to sin often if our mind hadn't already bought the lie. Satan knows that if he can warp our thinking, he can get us to act in ways that we never would have otherwise.
Don't believe me? Just think about it for a second. Why do people lust after money and possessions? Is it because they like nice things? Maybe. But chances are it's because deep down they believe that what they have defines who they are and deep down they probably aren't very thankful for what they already have or who they are.
Or how about the guy or the girl who's entering into a relationship they have no business being in. Is it because they are so overwhelmed with like that they can't see clearly? Maybe. But chances are it's bigger than that. Deep down they might be believing the lie that God doesn't really have someone picked out for them and they don't really trust Him enough to wait for Mr. or Mrs. Right.
You see, it all starts with the lies in our mind. Satan knows if he can get us to believe lies, he can take us down many dangerous roads.
No wonder why we're warned to guard our hearts. To renew our minds. And to stand firm in the truth we've been taught. Because without doing so, we're setting ourselves up to fall into a very big trap.
If satan could trick Adam and Eve to eat of the fruit, we're fooling ourselves if we think we can't be tricked in similar ways. It's time that we recognized the deceit in our lives ands started filling our hearts and minds with the Truth. And the only source of that can be found in the Word of God.
So let's pick up our dusty bibles. And let's fill our cluttered minds with the Words of life. Then and only then will we be able to both recognize and defeat the lies that are whispered into our ears everyday.
This devotional was aired as a part of the Making A Difference Christian Radio Show.