Are we deceiving ourselves?

There’s a lot of deceit in the Bible. Not, of course, from God. He never deceives but only ever speaks the truth. It’s we who are vulnerable to, or guilty of, deceit.

Sometimes we are deceived by others. Jesus warned us saying: ‘Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am he”, and, “The time is near”. Do not follow them (Luke 21:8).

Jesus also alerts us to deceit that comes, not from words spoken, but from the material world itself: the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful (Mark 4:19). Money deceives. It claims dependability and urges us to rely on it. Yet there is no true security in wealth because, as Jesus puts it, life does not consist in an abundance of possessions (Luke 12:15).