Be Honest With Yourself

Let no one deceive you.

Ephesians 5:6

A well-known defense attorney named Charles A. Peruto Jr. was asked about the admission by Pete Rose, after fourteen years of denial, that he bet on baseball while managing the Cincinnati Reds. Peruto replied dryly, “So now 100 percent of the population knows he bet on baseball. The only person who didn’t know before he confessed was him.”

It’s odd how easy it is to deceive ourselves. Is it possible that your husband, your wife, or your best friend has a better grasp of your strengths and weaknesses than you do? Is it possible that you’re in denial about a particular weakness, insisting you don’t have a problem, though it’s perfectly obvious to everyone else that you do?

Those who work with addictions say that denial and self-deception are our greatest enemies. We insist we don’t have a problem when it’s readily apparent to everyone else that we’re in deep trouble. It isn’t just addictive disorders, of course. All sin is self-deceiving.

Ask God to show you if there is an area in your life that needs correction. Pray in these words from an old hymn: “Search me, O God, and know my heart today! Try me, O Father, and know my thoughts, I pray.”