Believing in a Lie
There is a very intriguing episode of the TV series “Numbers” (a crime investigation drama) where a hit man, Funez, who is on death row, decided to confess to his murders out of guilt. After the police dug up the site of where Funez said the two bodies would be, one of the bodies found did not match what Funez said. Enraged, the police asked Funez to sit through a lie detector (polygraph) test to prove his honesty, which he did, and passed with flying colors. At the end of the episode, the police finally figured out where the actual victim’s body was and why Funez got the victims mixed up. Apparently he couldn’t get himself to murder the actual victim, a little boy, because he had a little daughter of his own. But in order to not lose his credit in the hitman society, he lied for 30 years and ended up believing in his own lie.
Of course you and I are no murderers. Have you ever experienced believing in a lie?
Neatly Packaged Deception
As I examined myself, I was surprised to see that there were so many instances where I chose to lie to myself when all the facts were in front of me. This is especially true in relationships. We have all heard the popular statement “You cannot change human character. Only God can.” But how many of us have tried to “train” our spouse or friends? I find myself unknowingly doing that in my marriage.
My wife always shares with me her troubles at work and how her boss overloads her with work. My respond is always “If it is too much for you, then quit. I can provide for both of us.” To me, it seems like a loving response because who doesn’t want to not work and still have all you want. However, my wife responded negatively and often uses the phrase “not supportive”. I was quite upset because I thought I was being a VERY supportive husband. Then I realized how I would feel if my spouse responded to me like that. My wife was actually crying out for support as she wants to succeed in work like everyone else but my respond was “give up lah”. How demeaning was that!
When I took a step further, I realized that deep in my heart, I actually wanted my wife to be a stay-at-home mom because I grew up with one and I wanted my son to have the same life as I did. That was pretty selfish of me. But I neatly packaged my selfishness in a “supportive husband” package deception which I did not realize until God humbled me.
Seeing Through the Lies
If we look at all the advancement that mankind has done throughout the years, you will see one distinct common goal: Make life easier and more comfortable…or so you thought? Technology has indeed made life more comfortable, but the advancement also means more spending on our side which in turn, causes more time spent looking for money and work. Somehow, it backfires.
The underlying truth here is that only God can give us an abundant life in Christ, not the amount of megapixels on your camera phone, or the number of points of your house, or the zeros on your paycheck. But how many of us really put it into practice?
My wife shared a face book post with me: “We all know God’s approval is the ultimate one we must get at the end life, but how many of us actually struggle with our devotion and prayer life as much as we do to please our bosses and meet deadlines?”
How much so we work to get the new iPhone as compared to our work to get God’s approval. May we all start to see through the lies that have penetrated our lives, and recommit to God.