It’s harder to figure out you’re wrong than you might think. Especially when it comes to your own thoughts. We should be able to trust ourselves, right? But if you’ve lived some life, you’ve probably come to find out that you can’t actually trust yourself.
Remember that person you thought you were going to marry?
That hair color you thought would look so good?
The tattoo you found on Pinterest?
That pyramid scheme “opportunity”?
The diet or workout plan that was supposed to change your life?
At first, you were convinced it was the exact right thing to do, but you later found out it wasn’t true. You would’ve bet on it, maybe you even did, but it turned out to be a lie.
I remember the first time I heard Jeremiah 17:9 out loud:
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” KJV
I was leading a high school Sunday school class, and my co-leader was answering a student’s question with this verse. I was shook but trying to hide it. You’re telling me that my own heart can trick me? This calls everything I think and feel into question—and that’s a scary place to be.
But suddenly, so many things made sense. At the time, I was reeling from a called-off engagement. I felt so lost and confused at how I ended up there. I had always followed my gut and God (sometimes in that order, oof). I felt certain that he was the man I was going to marry, until I didn’t feel certain anymore. I had been wrong even though I had felt completely right. This verse gave me context for what was going on inside of me.
My heart, if left unchecked, can lead me down some terrible roads. Application number one: don’t follow your heart. I had to unlearn every Disney movie message and fairytale plot line that subtly influenced my decisions.
Unfortunately, the lesson on my deceitful heart did not stop there. After years of attempting to discern the truth from the lies, I find myself still falling for the same old tricks. The lies that I uncover just reveal deeper lies underneath. It’s a constant battle in my head and heart to fight for truth. Luckily, there is a place I can always go when I need an infusion of truth, and there’s quite a bit on the topic.
Paul writes in a letter to the Corinthian church his concern for their hearts that are prone to be lead astray—hello? Me!
“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 11:3 ESV
Our thoughts can be led astray so easily. They can take us down a path that we never intended to go. Think back to the garden where Eve was tricked by the enemy with his most popular question: “Did God really say?” That one gets us every time.
Paul was writing about accepting a new gospel, a new spirit, a new way, rather than the Way, the Truth, the Life that is Jesus. If we aren’t capturing our thoughts, they can take us down a seriously scary path, the path that leads away from Jesus. This kind of path leads to death. He is asking the Corinthians not to put up with it—don’t put up with the things that hijack our thoughts or feed us lies.
In Colossians, Paul warns about being misled by good-sounding arguments or being taken captive by others’ lies.
“I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.”
Colossians 2:4 ESV
“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”
Colossians 2:8 ESV
It’s easy to look at things from another perspective—it’s actually a good thing to do! But it’s also easy to hear something that sounds good and makes us feel better and jump in on that. Instead of doing the hard work of turning back to the truth—of holding everything up to scripture, testing, trying. That takes time.
Thanks to social media and the internet, we get to hear everyone else’s opinions, arguments, and stated “truth” every moment of every day. Have you ever thought about how many perspectives and viewpoints you take in each time you open your phone? It’s not always blatant opposition to the truth. Sometimes it’s really good stuff, helpful stuff. I love learning about the brain-body connection, how trauma influences my response, and strategies to cope with stress. I want good recipes and science to back up how those foods keep me healthy. I like life hacks, corporate office memes, and aesthetically pleasing quotes. But sometimes it’s hate-spreading, bible-opposing, astrology-based, feel-good, or just plain demonic. And more often than that, it’s subtle untruths:
Climb the ladder of success.
You should look younger.
Put yourself above everyone else.
If you buy this you’ll feel better.
Your opinions are the right opinions.
Marriage is meant to make you happy.
You should hate people who disagree with you.
The American dream is God’s dream.
You deserve better.
It’s on us to be able to tell the difference. If we don’t take these messages back to Jesus, we’ll likely fall deeper into the lies. You will always find affirmation on the internet for the untruths you believe; it’s designed that way. Only God’s word is able to unravel each lie, piece by piece, until you are left with what He says about you—it’s hard work.
Paul cares so much about this because it’s easy to fall into the trap. We skipped past his hope for the Colossians before we got into the warning:
“I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love. I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Colossians 2:2-3 NLT
Although our hearts are deceitful and the world is deceiving, we can know the source of Truth. And there are countless mysteries, nuggets, and truth bombs to be found in Him.
What if we traded our obsession with what’s going on in the world for what’s going on in scripture?
What if we swapped scrolling for page turning?
What if we turned our comments and complaints into prayers?
What if we wanted to know God more than we wanted to know ourselves?
There is encouragement, love, and confidence in Christ. We won’t find that anywhere else, not even in ourselves. It sounds so simple, but I know it’s not. We want quick and easy, comfortable and convenient.
The way to truth is a well-worn path of sweat and tears paved through the pages of scripture.
It’s not flashy, it’s not fast, but it’s not wasted.
Don’t wait until the lies come to start seeking.
“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.”
Colossians 2:6 NLT
