Tag: self-deception

Psalm 33:12-22 – God Is Watching

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

sunshine of love

Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord, 
    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage. 

The Lord looks down from heaven; 
    he sees all humankind. 
From where he sits enthroned he watches 
    all the inhabitants of the earth— 
he who fashions the hearts of them all, 
    and observes all their deeds. 
A king is not saved by his great army; 
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 
The war horse is a vain hope for victory, 
    and by its great might it cannot save. 

Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, 
    on those who hope in his steadfast love, 
to deliver their soul from death, 
    and to keep them alive in famine. 

Our soul waits for the Lord; 
    he is our help and shield. 
Our heart is glad in him, 
    because we trust in his holy name. 
Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, 
    even as we hope in you. (NRSV) 

God is in control of the world, and I am not. Although the myth of self-sufficiency and self-reliance thoroughly permeates individualist societies, this in no way lessens the transcendence of a big God. In today’s psalm, the scene of God looking down from heaven portrays him as above all, firmly in control, yet, attentive to all that is happening on the earth. Individual human creatures subscribing to a narrative of personal independence will inevitably run into the Creator God. 

Our success may give us the illusion that our own strength, intelligence, and/or ingenuity has brought us the good things we possess – not God. “I worked hard for my money and I will do whatever I want with it,” and the even more crass, “It wasn’t God who put food on my table,” are just a few of the power delusions I have heard from others, as if personal accomplishments are unconnected to any other force in the universe. 

In addition, our lack of success may also cause us to pause and wonder if God is really observing all our deeds, or not. Perhaps he is reclining in his La-z-God chair and watching old baseball game replays of the Angels. More likely, we have become so expectant of satisfactory service and immediate results as consumers in a capitalist culture that we fail to discern the virtue of patience – that God is not slow in keeping his promises as some would understand it. 

The bald fact of the matter is that we need God. What’s more, God feels no compulsion from us to be hurried along in his purposes for humanity. Since God is the divine gravity in this world, the only way of realizing the good life is to conform ourselves to him, and not the other way around.  

When we learn to exercise the inherent gifts of hope and patience which a gracious God has fashioned in our hearts, then we begin to discover persevering trust, enduring happiness, a settled sense of gladness, and steadfast love. We awaken to the true passion of God for us. Rather than a capricious or indifferent deity, the Lord God looks upon us with endearing faithfulness. In short, God’s heart is forever drawn to us. Therefore, we need not attempt to take all matters into our own hands, as if we are alone in the world. If we can see a vision of God high and lifted-up, observing us with a gaze of delight, then our spirits open to mercy and we find grace to help us in our time of need. The prophet Zephaniah allows us a glimpse into God’s feelings for us:  

The Lord your God is in your midst—a warrior bringing victory. He will create calm with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17, CEB)

God labors on our behalf. God has our backs. God establishes a safe environment for us. And, we must never forget: God delights in you so much that – this very minute – he is singing songs of joy over you. For trust and hope cannot be coerced by another or willed into being by the mind; it can only be generated through the deep conviction of God’s broad love for you and me. 

The best self-help program I know of is not self-help at all – it is the self-care of opening to a loving God and allowing God’s joy and delight to fill us. God is watching us, and it is the gaze of adoration, not condemnation. 

Dear God, the One who watches all, love comes from you. Anyone who loves is your child and knows you. And anyone who does not love does not know you, for God is love. Thank you for showing me love by sending your one and only Son into the world so that I might have eternal life through him. Dear God, since you loved me that much, I surely ought to love others. May you live in me and may the love of Jesus be brought to full expression in me through the power of the Spirit. Amen. 

"Why, God?"

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment
 
 
In Lodi, California, in March of 2006, a city dump truck backed into a car belonging to a man named Curtis Gokey. The car was damaged badly, so Gokey sued the city of Lodi for $3,600.  There is, however, a catch to the story: Curtis Gokey was driving the city dump truck that crunched his personal car. And he admitted it was his fault. The city dropped the lawsuit, stating that Gokey could not sue himself.  Like Mr. Gokey, we are often our own worst enemies. There are times when it is easy for us to justify ourselves while blaming God and/or others in the church for things we don’t like. 
 
            When life is not going so well, it is possible to slide into a private belief system that thinks God is not good for his promises (James 1:16-17).  At worst, one can start to think that God is the problem and the source of the trouble.  To be “self-deceived” means to go astray or slowly drift from the truth.  And it can happen to anybody.  The first step to self-deception is having expectations that do not get met.  An expected answer to prayer goes unanswered; another person lashes out and there seems to be no protection from it; an expected blessing does not come to pass – it is then that complaining and blaming God for the problem can occur.  Immediately after being delivered from Egyptian slavery, the Israelites faced some significant challenges in the desert (Exodus 15:22-16:3).  They responded not with faith but with grumbling against Moses.  They began to believe that God did not have their best interests at mind, and started to skew how they looked at the past.  The Israelites quickly forgot that Egypt was terribly hard and they were slaves.  Yet, they looked at it as the good ol’ days.
 
            Trusting God when we do not understand everything that is happening can be a challenge.  Asking “why” questions are not all bad.  God is big enough to take our questions.  “Why, God, did you let my son or daughter die?”  “Why, God, did you give me so-and-so to deal with?”  “Why, God, is there so much suffering in the world?”  “Why, God, do people I care about have to go through such difficulty?”  “Why, God, do the wicked go unpunished?”  “Why, God, are so many Christians dull and apathetic?”  “Why, God, does everything seem to be changing?”  “Why, God?”
 
            Questioning can help us make sense of our situations.  Questioning may also cause us to doubt that God is there and that he will act on our behalf.  In such times it might be tempting to blame God for a broken relationship, a terrible event, a dysfunctional church body, or an adverse situation.  But God has chosen to give us birth through the word of truth (not a word of deception and lies) so that we might have new life with fresh eyes of faith to see our situations as God sees them (James 1:18).  That is what wisdom is – the ability to see all of life from God’s perspective.  If any of us lacks wisdom, we should ask God, who gives generously without finding fault, and it will be given to us (James 1:5).  This is a promise from a good God who knows how to give good gifts.
 
            None of us are above falling into misinterpretations that lead to the self-deceptions of questioning the goodness of God.  We need to be vigilant in watching for the clever stories we might tell ourselves:  ‘it’s not my fault; it’s all your fault; there’s nothing I can do about it, so I’ll just belly-ache about it.’  We are all to take charge of our lives through having a robust theology of God that discerns he is always good, all the time.
 
            The good news is that a good God has taken care of the sin issue once for all through the cross of Christ.  He has brought us the good gifts of forgiveness and grace.  Furthermore, God has given us his Holy Spirit to help us and guide us into all truth so that we will have wisdom and humility to live the Christian life as it is meant to be lived.  The key to it all is faith – genuine authentic faith that places head, heart, and hands completely in Jesus Christ so that we have right belief, right motives, and right actions all rightly working together in a full-orbed Christianity that glorifies God and blesses Christ’s church. 
 

 

            Don’t be your own worst enemy by sabotaging your thoughts with the double-mindedness of wondering about the true nature of God.  Explore the depths of God in Christ and discover the goodness that can result even in life’s most difficult experiences.

Self-Deception

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment


Back in the day we kids used to say to someone who was full of himself: “well, aren’t you just hot snot!”  The problem was that we usually thought more of ourselves than we should have and took the moral high ground even as we detected pride in another.  The fact is we are all targets for the temptation of self-deception.  King Saul in the Old Testament was the epitome of one who paid lip service to God and thought himself faithful, but never could bring himself to see that he was a disobedient clod and in need of coming clean about his true character (1 Samuel 15:1-26).
Many followers of Jesus are surprised when they end up in trouble.  They never saw the major inconsistencies of their lives, and did not take the preacher’s sermons and a well-meaning friend’s rebuke to heart because the message was really needed for “that other person.”  Too many of us Christians actually traffic in lies rather than truth through offering rationalizations, assessing blame on others for our problems, and evading responsibility.
When confronted squarely with our own wrongdoing, instead of trying to wriggle out of it by believing we aren’t as bad as other people, there is a much better and biblical response:  own up to it, and receive God’s grace.  The basis of grace is the cross of Christ, and that grace is most often dispensed through others.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Christian who resisted the evil of Hitler and chose a life of radical discipleship, had this to say:    
“A man who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother knows that he is no longer alone with himself; he experiences the presence of God in the reality of the other person.  As long as I am by myself in the confession of my sins, everything remains in the dark, but in the presence of a brother, the sin has to be brought into the light.”

 

            If we easily confess to God something that we would never think of sharing with a trusted friend or pastor, we are back to thinking too highly of ourselves and of the opinions of other people and not highly enough of God’s grace designed to shoo away the snakes of pride that slither about our feet.
            We must face our own addiction to self and a false self-image, and create a love for the truth of grace.  Deception can come in many forms, but the self-deceiver is in a special need for healthy spiritual introspection.  Are you willing to speak honestly about your own struggles, weaknesses, and shortcomings?  Or will you rely on reading a wimpy blog post to substitute for genuine and honest confession?
            God is glorified not when we are perfect or give the illusion of perfection; He is glorified in the struggle to live a holy life with a group of like-minded believers who have each others backs.  Wise church and ministry leaders will take care to cultivate a culture of confession throughout its organization.  So, may you have the courage to pursue hard after grace and find in Christ and his people newness of life.