My Favorite Liar
Posted: Sunday, November 22
One Year Bible Reading Guide:
Ezekiel 44:1-45:12
1 Peter 1:1-12
Psalm 119:17-32
Proverbs 28:8-10
Verse of the day:
Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions. (Psalm 119:29)
Humans have a strange affinity for lying. We hate being lied to, but we love the momentary shelter of a well-constructed lie. It’s not that we love lying, but we do love the alternate reality we create. When I lie, I instantly become a man who always follows through, never has bad intentions, and responds to every email in a timely fashion. Chaos occurs when the alternate reality unavoidable collapses. The collapse is why we hate being lied to.
However, there is one person with whom I can avoid a collapse for a much lengthier period of time. Me. Yes, ourselves! When we lie to ourselves, we make a unique pact between the victim and the culprit. Both parties accept the lie. We choose an alternate reality for days, months, and years. The lie is amplified and the delayed collapse is far greater.
Three types of self-deception are denial, rationalization, and projection.
1 Denial is refusing to believe that something is true. “I don’t have a problem with alcohol (even though you drink everyday).” “I’m not jealous (even though you secretly check your spouse’s email).” With the skills of our own creativity, we build a reality where one plus one means two for other people, but not for ourselves.