The Worst Kind of Deception
In last week's message, we started our discussion of Ephesians 5:1-14 by looking at a teaching of Jesus. At first, the language He uses seems somewhat instructive and illuminating. He picks up what would have been familiar language to His original audience - the language of two paths.
You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. - Matthew 7:13–14
Two paths - one narrow, one wide. One with a lot of people, one with only a few. One path leads to life, and the other to destruction. It seems simple enough - choose the right path and things will turn out well.
It's what Jesus says next that brings a difficult dimension to this otherwise straightforward teaching:
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. - Matthew 7:15-20
The clarity offered is both invitational and a little terrifying. Primarily because there is no genuine way to hide. Now, for those with nothing to hide - this is an invitation to further root down into the things of God, knowing He will continue to do His good work in us (see Eph. 3:16-19).
Here is what is terrifying. Those trying to hide their sin, or even those unaware of how they have been deceived, need to look no further than their own lives to see, in part, what is happening on a spiritual level - I might add to that, on a heart level. That can be difficult to stomach if you look at your life and wonder where the peace, love, joy, patience, etc., have gone missing.
The fruit of our lives reveals the level of intimacy we have with God. No shortcuts, no instant fruit allowed, no hiding, and no fooling of anyone. Well, there is one person who is easily fooled into thinking that the bad fruit in our lives is the result of others, circumstances, or a series of unfortunate events. That person often easily fooled is... us.
Somehow in the cloak of deception, we are the ones deceived. The term most often associated with that idea is self-deception. You could easily argue that self-deception is the most dangerous kind of deception.
Here is what makes it even harder. At the same time we are self-deceived, the people around us can see more clearly the fruit our life is producing - but the truth of that is often kept from us, further obscuring what is necessary for restoration and healing.
How many times have we witnessed or been impacted by someone else's self-deception, tasting the rotten fruit of their lives up close and personal, and yet shy away from addressing, confronting, or even mentioning what was going on?
That hits a little too close to home for us, doesn't it? We watch the people in our lives suffer because of sin, see the rotten fruit, watch them go down the road of destruction, and yet struggle to know what to do, say, or even think.
If that is you right now, you are not alone. But before you go down the path of all the ways we lack the courage to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15), or become critical of others' trees or fruits - let me encourage you to simply stop right here, and in this very moment join me in a final teaching from Jesus and a simple prayer.
Jesus says,
And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, 'Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye. - Matthew 7:3–5
May these words of Jesus provide us a framework to pray a prayer of examen (or examine). Made popular by a Jesuit priest from the 15th century, St. Ignatius, the prayer of examen has been used, in part, by faithful followers of Jesus as a way to ask God to reveal to us the things we have grown numb to, or been self-deceived by. While there have been various versions and different ways to pray this prayer - the common denominators are relevant to our discussion.
Start by presenting yourself to God - acknowledging His holiness and grace towards you, confessing your sins, both the ones you know and those you don't. Then ask God to show you areas where you have veered off the right path and the sins preventing a closer intimacy with Him. Next is the hard part, listen. While in that exact moment, He might not reveal anything (remember God is not a vending machine), let your heart and mind stay open to what God might soon reveal through the various aspects of your life and relationships.
Next week we will continue through this little section in Matthew 7 and dig a little deeper. Hope to see you Sunday.