Believing the Lie

Readings for today: Jeremiah 38-40, Psalms 74, 79

As a pastor, I meet with a lot of people. Most of the time, it’s to catch up or get to know each other better. However, a significant portion of my time is spent with people in crisis. The problem could be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. It could involve a spouse, a parent, or a child. It might be job-related. It could be about broken relationships. Whatever the issue - and they are legion - what I have found is that if I drill down far enough, I eventually get to a lie they have believed. A falsehood that has framed their thinking. And a huge part of my counseling approach is to help them identify the lies they believe and exchange them for the truth of the gospel. After all, it is the truth that sets us free according to Christ. And the sad reality is far too many believers make bad decisions based on lies they’ve been fed or told themselves for so many years.

The same was true for Zedekiah. He believed the lie that he could withstand the might of Babylon. he believed the walls of Jerusalem could never be breached because God was her protector. He believed in the false prophets he surrounded himself with and often persecuted true prophets like Jeremiah. The consequences of his decision to believe the lies are horrific. His own sons are captured, paraded in front of him, and then executed. His officials and nobles are killed before him as well. Every single person he knows and loves loses their life as a result of the choices he made along the way. These are the last images he will ever see because Nebuchadnezzar blinds him and hauls him off to Babylon in chains. Imagine how different things could have been if he had just listened to Jeremiah? Imagine how much pain and suffering he could have avoided had he listened to God and surrendered peacefully? Imagine how much bloodshed would have been avoided if he had placed his trust in the truth of God’s Word?

Now imagine these same dynamics are in play in your life. What lies do you believe? About your spouse? Your child? Your parents? Your co-workers? Your friends? What falsehoods have you allowed to take root in your heart that cause you to devalue yourself and others? How have you been deceived into thinking God doesn’t care or doesn’t hear your prayers? Friends, don’t believe the lies! Immerse yourself in Scripture and cling to the promises God offers us in His Son Jesus Christ. Discern what is true and noble and good and righteous and fill your mind with these things. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you God’s perspective on your life and lives of those around you. As you cling to the truth, you will find yourself being set free.

Readings for tomorrow: None

Fact Check

Readings for today: Proverbs 17-20

The truth is almost impossible to discern these days. Every news story has an angle. Every commentator has an agenda. Every social media post has a slant. All of them designed for a particular audience. Just about every day, I scan the headlines of the BBC, CNN, and FoxNews. Sometimes I add in MSNBC as well. I read the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. I scroll through Twitter where I intentionally follow a diverse group of people from across the social, political, and religious spectrum. And while my sample size isn’t all that big, it’s also not small and the thing I’ve learned over the years is never take anything at face value. Make sure you try to listen and understand all the perspectives in play on a particular issue before you draw any conclusions. Where did I learn this from? King Solomon. Listen to how he puts it,

“The first speech in a court case is always convincing— until the cross-examination starts!” (Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭17‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

We have a tendency to believe the first thing we hear especially if it comes from a member of our tribe. We have a tendency to rush to judgment especially if it involves the member of a different tribe. Democrats accuse Republicans and Republicans accuse Democrats. Conservatives accuse Progressives and Progressives accuse Conservatives. Evangelicals accuse Exvangelicals and Exvangelicals accuse Evangelicals. Blacks accuse Whites and Whites accuse Blacks. Gays accuse Straights and Straights accuse Gays. The list is almost endless. Each side assuming the worst of the other. Each side only considering the evidence that fits their particular narrative. Each side accusing the other of operating in bad faith. It’s a brutal, vicious cycle that can only end one way. The complete and total destruction of the “other.” It’s why we see violence and hatred and outrage ratcheting up to dangerous levels. Because there can be no compromise with the enemy. The only righteous and just thing to do is destroy them.

The one who first states their case always seems so right until we get to hear the other side. As Christians, we are called to discern the truth. We must reject falsehoods or half-truths of any kind. We are not given the option to embrace that which supports our own personal tribal narrative. And we never operate in an underhanded, manipulative, deceitful way. We walk in the light as children of the light. We walk with complete honesty and transparency before the Lord and before the world. We listen before we speak. We make a complete investigation before we draw any conclusions. We never assume. And we always try to engage in good faith and with the best intentions. As of the writing of this blog, some 63% of Americans identity as Christians. That’s approximately 210 million people. Imagine the impact we could make if we would simply commit to follow Solomon’s advice from the Proverbs? Imagine how the spheres of politics, media, and mass culture would change if we would commit ourselves to seek the truth and speak the truth all in love?

Readings for tomorrow: None

Truth

Readings for today: Jeremiah 8-9, 1 Timothy 2

Truth is a rare commodity in our day and age. Fake news. Outright lies. Conspiracy theories. Ideologically-driven news cycles. It’s hard to discern what is true and what is false in our world. Add to that the commercially driven lies our culture sells about beauty, identity, happiness, fulfillment, etc. and we find ourselves swimming in a cesspool of deceit. Social media has only thrown gas on this fire. Exacerbating a phenomena that threatens the very fabric of our society. Sadly, the church has fallen prey to these same forces. Trading in the truth of the gospel for a more palatable, therapeutic gospel that fills the seats, sells books, and makes rockstars out of megapastors. But it’s not just the megachurches who fallen for these lies. I cannot tell you the number of small churches I know who’ve allowed themselves to be defined more by the culture wars raging around us than the truth of the gospel. I cannot tell you the number of churches I know who care more about one’s political affiliation, one’s musical preference, one’s theological camp, or one’s denominational label than the truth God lays out for us in Scripture. I cannot tell you the number of individuals I meet who claim to be Christian but whose lives exhibit little, if any, evidence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Left without a champion, truth is lost and our world descends into chaos. 

Jeremiah faced a similar situation, living as he did in the final days of the kingdom of Israel. “Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity...Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully; with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭9:4-5, 8‬) It sounds strikingly familiar, does it not? Those with whom we disagree are not just wrong, they are evil. Those who are different are corrupt. Those who will not toe the line when it comes to ideological purity cannot be trusted. Their motives are suspect. They must have a hidden agenda. Surely there is a conspiracy afoot!

“Again the Lord said to me, "A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem...” (Jeremiah 11:9) AHA! There it is! Confirmation of the deep state! Confirmation that those who don’t agree with us are plotting to take over! Confirmation of the most nefarious intentions of our enemies! SEE! It’s all right there in the Bible! But then Jeremiah confronts us with the hard truth. The “conspiracy”, as it were, exists not “out there” but “in here.” Inside every human heart. Deceit. Fake news. Blatant falsehoods. Hidden agendas. Guess what? They’re all right here. In my heart. I fight them every single day. My entire life is a battle against such evil. So is yours if you’re honest. Listen to Jeremiah’s own words, “For they are all adulterers, a company of treacherous men. They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭9:2-3‬) He’s describing us. He’s describing humanity. The pagans and the people of God.

The truth, friends, is much more complex than we want to acknowledge. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is none who is righteous. Not a single one. All of us are like sheep who have gone astray and it is only the love of the Good Shepherd that keeps us from destroying ourselves. Left to our own wisdom, we will become confused. Left to our own strength, we will fail. Left to our own riches and resources, we will eventually go broke. And this is why God says to Jeremiah, "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord."(Jeremiah‬ ‭9:23-24‬)

Truth can only be found in God. The only way to discover truth is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Only after our dead hearts have been revived by the Holy Spirit can we discern what is true and false about our world and about ourselves. Only as we continue to surrender our own agendas, our own ideas, our own thoughts, our own opinions, our own truth to our Lord will we come to see His Truth for what it is and rejoice. Only as we fix our eyes on Jesus will we be able to see through all the lies and deceit this world has to offer.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 10-11, 1 Timothy 3