Today’s Devotional: “Living in Deception”

It takes a lot of strength to maintain a deception. Living a deceptive lifestyle is difficult, if not impossible.

Hiding a sin takes a lot of work and careful planning, because whatever the lie may be, it needs to be remembered the exact same way every time the story is told. And we’re not talking about a couple of months or years; we’re talking about the rest of our lives.

Fear also plays a role in keeping a lie, because we are constantly looking over our shoulder, so our lie isn’t discovered.

Therefore, living a lie saps our strength and is exhausting.

Jeremiah said, “Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning.” (Jeremiah 9:5)

Consider King David’s plight when he chose to live as if nothing had happened between him and Bathsheba, including the murder of her husband. He chose to live by a lie and was plagued both physically and spiritually, but then consider how it all changed when he came clean and told the truth, that is, he confessed his sin before God.

“Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” (Psalm 32:2-5)

David found out that, in the end, truth and honesty are the best policy, because they bring health and healing to our physical bodies, emotional stability, and spiritual vitality.

“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” (Proverbs 12:22)