The Lies We Buy

It seems as though I’ve been repeating a similar story to a few loved teenagers in my life lately as I know they’re about to embark into the journey of adulthood.  “Be careful what personal truths you hold on to, they may not be what God says about you.”  Perhaps it’s because I’ve had an opportunity to see God’s work in so many people who had hung on to lies spoken to them and over them.  Lies that I held on to.  Lies you’ve held on to, also. 

One of my absolute favorite reads in college was Why We Buy by Paco Underhill (Underhill, 1999).  After spending enumerable hours studying shoppers and their shopping behaviors, he and his team came up with a collection of reasons customers buy or don’t buy… the psychology behind it.  Many reasons weren’t necessarily obvious reasons you would think drives buying behaviors such as price and product.  One of the described no-no’s for retailers is the “butt brush.”  Racks that are too close, or isles that cause customers to come into close contact, particularly when their butt gets brushed, while shopping is a sure-fire sale killer.  What if we were to take this kind of look at the lies we buy?  What would we find?  I found myself unable to fall back asleep last night as I pondered this very thing… the lies we buy.

If we’re going to dissect the nature of lies, we should probably understand the nature of the lie giver- who he is, what he does, and how he does it:

Who he is:  lies are the devil’s native language… he speaks in lies and will never speak truth to us.    

“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

John 8:44 NIV

What he does:  the devil is not a creator like God.  Instead the devil counterfeits God’s creation.  And just like designer purses, you know you’ve bought a knock off when it starts falling apart at the seams, cracking in weird places, or a zipper gives out on you.  The devil is very good at counterfeiting God’s goodness for us, and though it may look the same, it doesn’t perform the same when it’s not God’s authentic design. 

How he does it:  the devil accomplishes it by stealing, killing, and by causing destruction. 

 

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

 John 10:10 NIV

 

By knowing these things- we know that the lies we buy are from the devil, that they can imitate what God does want for us, and that it ultimately will bring loss, death, or destruction.

So what, then, do these lies look like?  So often they are the thoughts we think and feel that if we think it, it must be true.  Why else would we have the thought?  Thoughts like:  “well, I guess I’ll never be able to get rid of those thoughts.”  The devil wants to preserve the work he’s started or havoc he wants to wreak in your life, so often it’ll be thoughts that preserve sin, hide sin, or invite you into sin.  Thoughts like

“I’m not any good at this”

“I deserve…”

“I don’t need any help.”

“If I were more ___, then I could ____”

“I’m naturally sarcastic, so I don’t have to apologize for what I said.”

“He/she’s in the wrong, I don’t have to be nice.”

“Why should I care?”

I think what’s most deceiving about lies, is that they don’t sound the way we would expect them to sound.  Just like an open window changes the temperature of the room, so does a lie change the temperature of our heart.  They seem innocent but change how we view and respond to a situation, others, or ourselves.  They change us.   

Let’s not grow cold in this journey:  here are some helpful hints for letting loose of the lies we’ve bought.   

1.      File your thoughts.  If you’re like me, filing is not a lot of fun.  Mail, legal documents, bills, receipts, and the like tend to pile up.  What actually happens when I don’t file something right away- I tend to look at it two to three times.  Once, when I look at it and determine not to deal with it, and then again when I’m sorting through the pile, and then a third time when I finally decide to put it away.  Imagine the damage we cause when we think about a lie that many times!  The more we think it, the more we begin to believe it.  Advertisers know that we usually need to hear a message three times before we actually receive the message… and so does the father of lies.  The more he can present a lie to us or have us stewing over it, the more likely we are to buy it.  So what do I mean by filing our thoughts?  Determine what the thought produces and file it accordingly.  Does it produce peace, patience, love, kindness, hope, faithfulness, or righteousness?  Or does it produce division, jealousy, despair, harm, hopelessness, anger, defiance, hatred, or disrespect?  If it falls into any of the latter category, I give you permission to throw it into file 13:  trash that thought…it’s a lie.  The Bible tells us to take our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5).   

2.      Put on the armor of God. 

^"10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

 Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV

3.      Ask for help.  Putting on the armor of God can feel like an overwhelming task when we feel distant from God.  If this is you:  today is a new day!  Ask God for help, ask a Christian friend for help.  They should be able to help you find a local church that loves Jesus and preaches from the Bible, and how to get into your Bible.  The book of John is a great place to start if you’re not sure where to start.  Have you ever thought about what it would look like to put your own armor on without help?  God loves the church and is His design!  They are people that can come alongside us to encourage us and help us suit up so that we’re able to defend ourselves when the father of lies comes with his sales pitch. 

4.      Speak truth to yourself.  It can be hard to determine where, when, and why a lie sneaks into my thoughts.  The best way to target the lie and pitch it is by combating it with truth.  The Bible is called The Word of Truth for a reason:  it’s filled with truths that will give those lies a one-way ticket OUT.  If you feel yourself combating a lie over and over again, find a verse that combats it with truth and post it on your mirror, fridge, and other places you’ll see it regularly.  It may take a little time or a lot of time:  give yourself grace if it takes longer than you'd like.  It’s time we start seeking out what God says about us, rather than accepting what the lie says about us. 

Father, thank you for your Word and ALL of the truth you have provided us.  I pray that you would help me identify lies that I’ve bought.  Please help me to make right what I’ve made wrong, and to speak your truth to others and myself.  Bring others into my life that I can help equip and can help equip me with your armor.  Please help me to speak your truth over myself and those around me.  I love you.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

XO,

Jackie E

What verses of truth are you using to help combat a lie/lies?

Taking Control of the "Out of Control"

“Take back control!”  This is the message we often hear when we open our computers, turn on the tv, or even search through the “someday” pins on pinterest.  Take control of your weight, health, money, career, kids, relationships; you name it, answers on how to take control over any area of our life is just a click away.  Ever question if maybe we’re taking too much control and leaving our need for God’s control in our lives out in the cold? 

A few nights ago I had a dream that has since left me deep in thought and prayer.  I won’t go into too great of detail about that dream because I know it’s never quite as deep or fascinating to the hearer as it is for the one who dreamed it.  But the lesson from it caught my attention, and I have a feeling it’s something we could all learn from.

Cold outside, I was in a hurry to get to the next location about a mile from where I was.  I had two options:  walk it or drive it.  I felt in the deepest part of me that I should walk, BUT because I was in a hurry, I chose the quickest, warmest route…by car.  The entire route was glazed over with ice, but I didn’t relent.  I was determined to control the car in a manner that wouldn’t cause it to spin out.  Good in theory, but ultimately I crashed the car as we slid on the ice into an oncoming car.  The passenger was injured but I wasn’t so lucky; I died.  I experienced the out-of-body experience briefly before going and standing before the Lord.  Anticipating His judgment for my life, I was taken aback by what He did.  Instead He told me that He was going to give me another shot on earth, but that I wouldn’t be able to return to the life I was working towards (I was single and parentless in the dream).  The conditions for my return and consequences for ignoring His wisdom in that situation were that I wouldn’t be able to have children, nor could I marry.   

Wow.  I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve died in my dream, but the dream always ends abruptly when I do.  This one was very different, and I knew exactly what it was about:  CONTROL.  Having just moved our family over 5,000 miles from “home,” adjusting to a new place, phasing out a business that God had blessed, and knowing that we’ll be moving and doing it all over again in less than six months:  let’s just say I feel a little out of control. 

In areas where I have asserted myself to take control in my “out of control” situation, I’ve kind of left God out of the process.  And though it may be an area/areas where I have had control in the past, and know I can successfully control again, it doesn’t account for the conditions.  You may be able to drive the car, but you don’t control the conditions… God does.  He knows what lies ahead, the climate, situational circumstances, other people with whom you might collide, and the harm you may cause passengers for not listening to what God told you to do.  Each time we ignore His wisdom and guidance, we risk the people around us, and it might cost us the blessings God wants to give us. 

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Imagine living a life that prevails because you are operating under God’s control rather than fighting Him for control to make your plans come to life!  We know that His purpose prevails, and we know that His purpose for us is good.

Jeremiah 29:11New (NIV)

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Ask God if there are areas in your life where you’ve taken control and need to give it back to Him.  Listen.  And do what He tells you… it might save you and the people around you a whole lot of hurt. 

Pray:

Father, please forgive me for areas where I’ve taken control and not allowed you control.  Please help me to see areas in my life where I need to give you control, please help me to hear what it is that you’re saying, and to live out what you tell me.  I love you.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.