May 25th

Lest Something Worse Befall Thee

Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 1 Corinthians 3:18

Know thyself.

This famous quote is one of the most powerful things we can do, but the reason it is so profound is because it is so difficult.

Paul, knowing how hard it is to really know ourselves, warned the church in Corinth against self-deception. The city of Corinth was a booming metropolis, one of the most important cities of Greece at the time. Everything seemed to be working for them and it would have been very easy to try to mimic what they did in the pursuit of similar success.

Yet this was exactly the last thing Paul wanted the believers to do. Instead, he wanted them to remember that all the so-called wisdom in the city was utter foolishness to God.

Self-deception surrounds us today in our culture. The first several weeks of American Idol are a prime example, as person after person who can't carry a tune in a bucket stands before judges to croon like a wailing cat, only to be told something a friend should have told them a long time ago-Dude, you can't sing.

We see this in the church, with people wanting to have leadership positions, but they can't lead their own family; or wanting to teach from the pulpit, but they've never successfully taught a Sunday school class or small group; or wanting to join the worship team, but lacking any musical talent whatsoever.

We see this in society at large as people try to deny Jesus as God, the Bible as God's Word, or justify sin as okay.

Self-exaltation is the wisdom of the day. You gotta be true to yourself, man, cause no one else is gonna stand up for you. All boundaries, all truth, is all relative, take it or leave it, in pursuit of self.

Let me tell you now: It's all a lie, a lie from the great liar himself, the devil. You're not alone, and you never will be. You don't have to force your dream into the world, because God has good plans for your life and you really can trust Him. There's a reason the Holy Spirit is called our Helper!

Most importantly, there is only one voice we can trust to know who we are and stay free from deception-the voice of our Creator. Know what He says about you and you will Know thyself.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for knowing me so completely! I want to walk in Your truth and stay away from the dangers of self-deception, so please continually increase Your light in my life, helping me to know myself rightly and to walk in Your ways.

Amen