Remember when they told us margarine was better for us than butter? My entire childhood was marked by commercials touting margarine’s “heart healthy” benefits even though today’s nutrition scientists universally prefer natural butter over chemical margarine. Or that bit about having to wait an hour after eating before swimming lest you get cramps and potentially drown? There’s also no science behind that, even though, in my childhood, everybody believed it.
These “scientific” lies weren’t too consequential—how much margarine did any of us actually eat? But there are spiritual lies that can have a major negative impact on our relationship with God. They build resentment and anger toward God, and often keep us from running into the arms of God just when we need him most.
Ask yourself, what lies might you be holding on to that are keeping you from enjoying intimacy with God and having a heart of worship? One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to get us to believe something that isn’t true, and then use the disappointment that results from believing a lie to make us resent God instead of worshipping God.
Here are some examples:
I’ll finally have peace when everything in my life is just the way I want it. But that will never happen, and so we’ll never have the peace God truly promises if we focus on “fixing our world” instead of fixing our focus on Jesus. Peace is one of the best things about being a Christian, but so few experience it because they believe a lie about what creates peace.
Life is scary, so I need to be in control. But many things happen outside of our control. When we learn to trust in the sovereignty and protection of God, being out of control can feel like an adventure instead of a threat. Jesus said a life of discipleship forfeits control to God: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Christians who focus on maintaining control often become bored with their faith instead of energized by their faith.
If I am faithful, all my children and loved ones will follow God. But Jesus warns us that sometimes faith in Him can break up families rather than bring them together (Matt. 10:35-36). Instead of running to God for comfort when we are rejected by loved ones, we’ll blame God for letting this happen.
Once I trust in Jesus, sin and temptation will be in the rearview mirror and I’ll never have to struggle again. Ecclesiastes 7:20 and James 3:2 tell us that sin and temptation will be a struggle throughout this life. Puritan Thomas Brooks wrote that “the best men have been the worst tempted.”
My book The Life You Were Reborn to Live: Dismantling 12 Lies that Rob Your Intimacy with God recounts other lies that gum up our spiritual growth. If there’s one thing a Christian can’t afford to take for granted, it’s the truth. What we believe impacts us emotionally, spiritually, relationally, and physically. Paul wrote, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2 CSB).
Dismantling the lies we hold onto (but often don’t realize are lies) is an active process. Renewing our minds renews our lives, sets us free from the consequences of believing a lie, and brings in new joy. It’s the life we were “reborn” to live! By rethinking what we take for granted, we can overcome fears and discover joy and hope where we once struggled with bitterness, resentment, and anger. The joyful and peace-filled Christian life is based on truth. Every lie we believe about God changes the way we look at him and respond to him.
One of the best gifts you can give to yourself, your marriage, and your children is the truth. Satan uses lies to turn us against ourselves, each other, and, he hopes, against God. Dismantling the lies and embracing the truth are essential steps to draw ever closer to God and closer to others.
A Different World
Our children attended a public high school with a principal who was a finalist for the National Principal of the Year award. Early in the school year, when some transfer students got into a fistfight, Steve brought the students into his office and said, “Maybe you don’t understand, but fighting isn’t how we settle things here at Bellingham High School.”
This is a new place; we operate by different rules.
With that thinking, Steve created a thriving environment for students to learn. The two students had learned to survive in their old school by fighting. But they were in a new school now and needed to unlearn that strategy. There’s a different way to live. Will you unlearn what isn’t true and embrace a more exalted life as a citizen of God’s Kingdom? If you’d like to explore more of these lies, how to identify them and overcome them, I’d encourage you to read The Life You Were Reborn to Live: Dismantling Twelve Lies that Rob Your Intimacy with God.
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Author Info
Gary Thomas
Gary Thomas’ writing and speaking focuses on bringing people closer to Christ and closer to others. He is the author of over 20 books that together have sold two million copies. He is the teaching pastor at Cherry Hills Community Church in Highlands Ranch, Colorado and an adjunct faculty member at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon. Find Gary at www.garythomas.com.