You're Fooling Yourself

OK, so it's been a cold, snowy day and other than shoveling snow and running a couple of errands, I've been loafing today. I found myself searching for old music that I enjoyed in my youth on the Net. One of my favorite groups back in the day was Styx and I found myself listening to a couple of their tunes, when I found a video on Youtube of Styx performing, "You're Fooling Yourself" which was a hit for them the summer after I graduated high school. I really love the intro they did to that song, but enjoyed the whole song as well. As I was listening to it, that phrase, "you're fooling yourself if you don't believe it" struck a chord in me and I began thinking about how we all tend to fool ourselves at times. By that comment, I am referring to how we think we have others fooled, but it is only ourselves that we are fooling. It always amazes me how that as children we seem to grasp the concept better that God sees and knows our every thought, deed and action but as we get older, we actually think we have God fooled.

There is a passage in the Bible that says:
Oh Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. (Psalm 139:1-4)



Now none of us really want to admit this, but as we go through our lives we are all living under layers upon layers of lies. As I think on this, I realize that maybe it is not so much that we don't want to admit it as much as it is that we have gotten to where we don't even recognize this fact any more. The fact is that our lies can become so much a part of us that we don't even recognize them as being untrue anymore. It is also a fact that we tend to justify our lies with statements and attitudes that say, “Well, it was just a little white lie that did no harm.” Or, “I only lied to protect someone.” Or maybe we lie on a job application or we pad a resume. Maybe we drop names of people we barely know or claim to have met. Sometimes the lie is in claiming accomplishments we never actually acheived. And we just get used to those little lies.


But who are we fooling?
According to the Word of God, God is well aware of and taking account of everything we do. He really does know every thought, every word and every action. But if we will allow Him into our lives, the Holy Spirit will peel back the layers of lies and reveal to us the truth. And it is only in truth that we can freely live. Here's a secret... When ugly sins are revealed in your heart, don’t justify them by hiding them again under another layer of lies. Instead, as the Holy Spirit uncovers them, deal with them, abolish them and eliminate it. Make it right by exposing the situation and asking God for forgiveness and repent of it. Remember, he already knows what we have done. That is not always easy, but if we ask God, He will give us the courage to set the record straight.