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).
But a still more alarming deceit is the one that comes from within – our ability to deceive ourselves. Jeremiah describes it like this: ‘The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure, who can understand it’ (Jer.17:9). Our hearts deceive us in different ways. We might believe our motives for taking on a leadership position are good and godly. When, in reality, desire for power and the admiration of others is what is really driving us.
James speaks of self-deceit in this way. ‘Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves’ (James 1:22). Being familiar with God’s word is different to being obedient. When our knowledge of God’s word increases, but that knowledge rests merely on the surface, it leads to self-deceit. Paul puts it like this: ‘If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves’ (Gal. 6:3).
Self-deceit is appealing because the lies we tell ourselves are invariably more attractive than the truth. James likens it to looking at your face in a mirror and immediately forgetting what you look like (James 1:24). We much prefer our appearance as we imagine it to be, rather than the cold, hard reality!
The word reveals truth – truth about God and truth about ourselves and to ignore that knowledge is a terrible folly. What remedies are there?
Here are three quick suggestions.
1. Read and obey. Do not merely listen to the word, says James, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James 1:22). Years ago I knew a fellow student who, despite being young in the faith, seemed remarkably mature. When I asked about his discipleship, he told me that each morning he would identify a command in the Scriptures and for the rest of the day seek to obey it. That’s what James is on about here – and, yes, it is deceptively(!) simple.
2. Listen to others. Ephesians 4 paints a picture of instability and deceit in verse 14 that gives way to maturity and stability in verses 15-16. And what brings this transformation? Speaking the truth in love (v.15). Self-deceit is so often punctured by the words and insights of others. They see our hypocrisy and their rebukes call us back. James, in his letter, seems especially troubled by deceit. It’s not insignificant, therefore, that he ends by commending whoever ‘turns a sinner from the error of their ways’ (James 5:19). We need both the courage to speak and the humility to listen.
3. Admit our sin. If we claim to be without sin, John tells us, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). Confession of sin is one of our most powerful protectors against self-deception. It sensitizes us to error. It says: I am prone to wander; in danger of self-deception. I am less secure and less godly than I want to believe.
Of all the deceptions to which we are prone, none is more perilous than self-deception. And in our battle against self-deceit, three of our greatest allies are these: listening and obeying Scripture; listening to our fellow believers, and readily and honestly confessing our sin.
