Lies vs Truth

In the last post, "Who told you that?", we talked about the many voices we are bombarded with and how to identify God's voice over the enemy's. Today I want to talk about what we do when we know the voice we are hearing is not in fact the voice of God. We can know something is a lie, or dividing our relationships, or creating fear and worry, or leading us into sin...but sometimes just knowing it is a lie is not enough. What do we do about it? What do we do with the lies?

I want to give you three real scenarios of how these lies might sound to me, the ways I am tempted to respond to them in my flesh, and how God's truth sounds in contrast to the lies.

Scenario 1

Husband- Maybe we can clean out the garage this weekend?

*Lie- He doesn't think you are doing a good job keeping up the house. You have failed. You should be more on top of things and work harder. You should be perfect at everything, but you are not. He is disappointed in you.

Response- The lie leads me to want to respond in a way that defends my pride and divides. For example: "Sorry, do you know how hard it is just to keep up with the house? I'm constantly doing laundry and cleaning. Plus I did clean out the garage a few months ago but the kids just take everything out and make it messy! Just leave it, I'll try to get to it, ok?"

In reality, my husband wanting to clean out the garage had nothing to do with my inadequacy as a housewife or my failure to keep things tidy. But my insecurities made me susceptible to believe the lie and respond in a way that caused division over unity. Often times we project our insecurities into other people's words, but that is not at all what they are even saying. And then the enemy is all too happy to come in confirm that they are indeed saying that, and your insecurities are exactly right! If I could have rejected the lie and believed the truth that I find approval not in what I do but in God's love and acceptance of me because of Jesus, I could respond differently. Instead of proving my worth in how hard I work, I can find my worth in Christ. And my response could be, "Awesome, that sounds great. I'd love help in cleaning out the garage. Thank you!" Now instead of me being the failure and him the critic, as the voice of the enemy suggested, we can be on the same team. I can build my husband by appreciating his involvement rather than resenting the intrusion. I can see the suggestion as him being kind and considerate rather than critical. Recognizing and rejecting the lie, and embracing and acting on the truth can lead to a totally different result in the short and long term of a marriage.

Scenario 2

Kid is sick. With something new that I am not familiar with. And it is getting worse.

*Lie- You better panic and worry. This is bad, very bad, and you better not wait or be calm. This all depends on you and what you do, you are in control here and if you make the wrong choice and something happens to them it is all on your shoulders. In fact, this is probably your fault. Have you been feeding them healthy enough? I don't think so. Did you give them their vitamins? You have somehow failed them. This will most likely result in the worst case scenario. Prayers don't do anything, God hears you but He probably won't do anything, so you have to be the one to fix this.

My response- Panic, worry, fear.

The truth- God has it all under control. I can pray to Him, trust Him, and seek Him on what to do. It is not all on me, it is in His hands. He is the healer, He does intervene. I can make the next rational choice, consult my husband and doctor, and wait patiently for the sick one to get better. It will most likely NOT be the worst case scenario, but even if it is, My God will be with me (and my kids and husband), and there is nothing that we will ever have to walk through alone. God cares about every detail, He is paying attention and on duty, and He will give us peace and grace to walk through good and bad times. He is faithful and can be trusted, not because of the circumstances but because of WHO HE IS.

Scenario 3

Weighing on the scale. Weight is up 3 pounds from a few days ago.

*Lie- Well, lets just call it like it is, you are fat, and generally unattractive. You should carry yourself differently today, be less confident, and be ashamed of the gluttony that led to this tremendous weight gain. Judge yourself based solely on the outside. Your worth is based on your appearance and your weight. Do you see that girl? She never does that, she is never a glutton, she always feels good, she is very beautiful. You better undergo some drastic new diet regimen and cut out most, if not all, of the food groups.

Ok, so I am kind of being dramatic with this one, but these are the kind of lies we women hear and believe about our appearance. Notice the lie about where our beauty and worth are found and the comparison with the women around us. It is the lie of the enemy! He wants us to walk in shame and spend all of our time focused on the outside, because then we have no time or energy to do the things that truly matter. We can not see others if we are so focused on ourselves and what we are not allowed to eat.

The Truth- I am made by God, I am beautiful because of who He made me. Weight fluctuates. It does not define who I am, Christ defines who I am. God has given me freedom to eat and enjoy the foods He has created. I can be a good steward of my body, but my body will not last forever and is not to be an idol. Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. (Prov 31:31) Rather than spending all of my time and energy on my (perishing) body, how can I love today? How can I serve, encourage, build, bless? I can praise God for my body and appreciate how He physically made me rather than criticize. I can eat foods that bring life and thank Him for that precious gift. I can walk in freedom by seeing myself the way God sees me, rather than living in bondage to the scale and the mirror.

These are a few of the ways I personally may be tempted to listen to, believe, and respond to the lies I am hearing. I could go on and on. And we all could! Your lies may be different than my lies. The voices lying to you may attack you in totally different ways, but there are a few things I want to point out in regard to what we do with the lies.

First, it is important to recognize the voice of the liar. His voice has a distinct tone, and I most recognize it by what it does...it promotes fear, causes division, diminishes worth, heaps shame, negates value, distracts from purpose, and ultimately pushes us toward sin and death. And the main thing, it is the complete opposite of the voice of God and the truth of scripture (what it says in the Bible). God's voice speaks life, worth, unity, peace, trust, grace, love, reconciliation, approval, patience, kindness, gentleness, purpose, beauty, etc. Learn to recognize the voice of the liar.

Step 2, identify the lie. Once you recognize that the voice you are hearing is the voice of the liar, the next step is to articulate the lie that you are hearing. This may sound so simple, but it can be really helpful. I encourage you to stop and process by saying "it" out loud or writing it down: What am I hearing? What am I afraid of? Why am I panicking or worrying? Why am I angry? What am I defensive? What am I feeling right now? What lie am I hearing? What is it leading me to do, how is it leading me to respond?

For me this is something I have to actively stop and do. And then when I either write it out or say it out loud, in all honesty it usually sounds pretty dumb. When you write it down or say it out loud, what is the root of the lie, the deep underlying message you are hearing, then you can begin to move on to the next step. I'll add in that the more you do this, articulate the lie you are hearing, the more you realize that there are patterns in the type of lies you are most susceptible to. Sometimes you have a random thought out of left field, but often you'll recognize that the enemy has strategic attacks for you. (But take courage, God also has a strategic plan for you and gives you His armor to defend against this attack of the enemy.) For example, many many times, the lies that I am most vulnerable to center around "fear of death" and "aloneness." I often am hit with a thought that I will die and my poor kids and husband will be left alone, or my husband will die and how will I possibly help the kids to be ok dealing with not having their dad, or one of my kids will die and how devastating that would be. It has been such a theme and a repeated lie that now I recognize it almost instantly. So, once we recognize it, what do we do?

Step 3 is to reject the lie. To say, "That is not true! I do not believe it. Jesus, this is not your voice. God, this does not line up with Your Word. What I am hearing is not coming from you and it is not leading to life or peace or trust or unity. I choose to take that thought captive, to throw it out with the garbage, to not repeat it or take it in or embrace it, but to call it out as a lie."

And finally, you speak the truth. Remember, what God says is the truth. And ultimately, Jesus is The Truth. So you open up the Bible, find out what God says. Study the Bible, get to know the character and voice of God, get to know what the truth is so you have it as a ready defense. You cannot just "not" believe a lie, you have to choose instead to believe and embrace the truth. You listen to what God says and believe that instead. You pray and ask God to show you the truth, to help you to believe the truth. You use God's Word as your weapon. You say it out loud. You write it down. And then you act on the truth, not the lie. I love this passage from Ephesians 6 on the armor of God. Let's take a look at the whole passage:

Ephesians 6:10-18

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.

There is so much here, but I just want to touch on a few highlights. Notice the warfare language of this passage, there is a battle, an attack, an enemy the devil scheming and fighting here. This battle can take place in many ways, one being the battle going on in our minds. We are called to respond by putting on the armor of God. Our defense is not by our own strength, but we do have an active role in putting on the armor God provides. We don't sit back and do nothing, we suit up for the battle with the armor and weapons God gives us. What is this armor? Truth, which strengthens our core and allows us to stand, to stay on our feet in the battle, to stand our ground. Righteousness, which guards our heart and leads us in the right path. The gospel of peace, the Good News that Jesus saves all who believe in Him. The shield of faith, holding up God's truth as a shield and believing what it says. This act of faith extinguishes the fiery darts (lies) the enemy shoots our way. The helmet of salvation, believing we are saved not by what we do but by God's grace made available in Jesus, renewing and protecting our mind by continually leaning into our salvation day by day, moment by moment. And the weapon we are provided, God's word, our sword to strike back. For His Word is far more powerful than the lie of the enemy, it defeats every foe. Don't fight with your own words, fight with His words. Finally, integrated into all of this, prayer, continually, in all occasions, with all kinds of prayer.

When you recognize the voice of the liar, stop listening to him. Incline your ear instead to the voice of Truth, the Word of God; listen to the voice of the Shepherd. There is incredible power in God's voice, and His Truth is more powerful than any lie. Put on God's armor. Believe what God says, remember the gospel, lean into salvation, put on the truth, believe the truth by faith, act on the truth to lead you in righteousness, and use the word of God, God's Truth, as your weapon.

My last disclaimer is that sometimes you cannot do this on your own. Obviously you need God's help to do this...it is always by the help and power of the Holy Spirit in you that you reject lies and embrace truth. But even more so, sometimes we need friends, counselors, pastors, and prayer warriors to come along side us and lead us to recognize the lies and hear the truth. Seek the help you need, there is power in community and counseling!

Why is it so important to reject the lies and embrace the truth? Because they don't stay in your head. They shape your actions and your responses, which in turn affect your relationships, your marriage, your children, the people around you, what you spend your time doing. Our thoughts play out into every area of our lives. If we are continually believing lies and walking in them, this will be a path leading to pain, sin, death, sorrow, depression, anxiety, conflict, loneliness, and bondage. If we are growing in believing the truth, listening to God's voice and acting on that, it will be a path leading to peace, love, joy, obedience, service, purpose, courage, community, encouragement, and life (to name a few).

As Paul writes in the letter to the Philippians, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

God's Truth is all of those things. Dwell on His truth, believe His truth, walk in His truth, put it into practice. Let the Shepherd lead you along His path, for it is the path to life and peace...it is the path to freedom.