Carol McClain

If We All Hate Liars, Why Do We Lie To Ourselves?

By Carol McClain

@carol_mcclain

“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.” (Jer. 29:11)

Neil and I helped a woman, “Sybil,” for nearly a year. She stopped by our yard sale, needed help getting shelves she bought back to her house. We chatted, invited her to church and began a friendship.

It wasn’t long into that friendship when she began telling tales about others. “You cannot trust “Myrtle.” She’s evil.”

That was an odd statement. Myrtle, who went to a different church, was my closest friend. I’d known her for over twenty years, and if you couldn’t trust her, you might just as well commit hari kari right now because there was no hope for the world.

I corrected her.

“Oh no. You don’t know Myrtle like I do. I know her very well, and she…”

If I didn’t know the woman she lied about, I might have believed Sybil. She was my friend. She needed help and was willing to listen to the gospel.

She later began another set of lies about our pastor and his wife. She claimed they never tried to help her, that they never reached out to her.

This, too, I knew to be false. When I corrected her on these, she turned her wrath on me.

Granted, Sybil had issues of her own. However, she serves to illustrate a point, liars are nasty people who spread disinformation and make life miserable for others. No one likes or respects a liar

So then, why do we lie to ourselves?

Last week, I posted eight common lies. People chronically tell themselves one of them and believe it

EIGHT LIES PEOPLE BELIEVE ABOUT THEMSELVES

1. I’m a disappointment.
2. I’m not good enough.
3. I’m not enough–or defective.
4. I’m too much to handle and will get rejected.
5. It’s all my fault
6. I’m helpless–powerless to fix. This lies leads to a fear of being controlled.
7. I’m unwanted/unloved.
8. I’m bad.

None of the above are true. If you’re a child of God, all sin in your life has been washed away. You will grow in maturity and faith. You are loved and precious.