I met with Stephen Brewster, this week in downtown Nashville. Stephen is in town for the GMA’s in his official capacity as the Senior Director of Marketing for Integrity Music. Stephen and I have gotten to know each other a little over the last couple of months. If you don’t regularly read his blog then CLICK HERE for a little taste. I bet you’ll go back for more! He’s off the charts creative and inspired me in all kinds of ways yesterday. But here was the one thing that stood out.
He said, “Pete, you need to know your present state of deception. We are all deceived by something.”
That statement bounced around in my head all day yesterday. I thought about verses like Proverbs 14:12 which remind me that we all have the unbelievable capacity for self deception. And while the stakes are high for everyone, for those of you that are leaders, you really have to tune in to your deception. Leading from your state of deception can do a lot of damage to your organization and the people under your leadership.
I think my present state of deception has to do with the attitude, “If I don’t, it won’t.” Sometimes I buy into the idea that I have to do it, and if I don’t do it, it’s not going to be done or it’s not going to be done right. It’s birthed from control and/or trust issues that I know I need to keep in check on a regular basis. The real down side to this deception is that I don’t end up empowering the people that God has entrusted to my life.
You’re next. What is your current state of deception?
Hint: If you can’t think of one you should ask someone close to you. They will probably be able to answer it without even thinking!
This is more accountability partner discussion stuff than let’s post it for the whole world to see stuff. Pete you know me, you tell me where I deceive myself. Oh and just to receprocate you are right on the money with your deception.
I know what my main self deception is. I lean too much toward my own logic.
When we are self deceived Christians, for some reason, we are simultaneously holding contradictory beliefs. Now, why does that happen?
We’re given a pretty good snapshot of it in Jeremiah 17:9, ” The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
Whenever we lean toward our own understanding, without passing it by the Lord, we get stressed out, bummed out and make mistakes. He alone knows and understands the heart. It’s so easy for me to forget, I can’t trust mine, unless He is guiding me. Maybe, no one else has that same problem, but I sure do.
Anyway, that’s my two cents.
Trust.
Trusting that I make the right decisions.
Trusting God’s going to come through when it looks like I’ve made the wrong decisions…or Trusting that when the right decision looks like the wrong decision, its still the right decision.
Trusting that the right decisions are the right decisions.
Maybe a little confusing, but since it is my state of deception, I understand it clearly
Nice post Pete! I have crawled off to hide under a rock having now come to grips with my self deception.
One I struggle with is the idea that I have nothing valuable to offer. (squirms uncomfortably under the harsh light of honesty)
that friends through out my life who are “doing the music thing” in Nashville or Atlanta or at a church…are more “successful” than me…that whole comparison game that one can never win in their mind…and that God doesn’t play…
Take it from the Giant Idiot, Julie, God has gifted everyone.
It is impossible to know you’re own current state of deception – that’s the trick. When you deceive yourself, you believe that deception to be truth.
Look at religious fundamentalism. Are homosexuals all evil? Probably not, but many deceive themselves and sincerely believe that they are. Does a benevolent god want Muslims to be killed in the name of democracy? Probably not, but many believe that to be the truth.
I’m a liberal. I believe that global warming is a serious problem. I sincerely accept that as fact. Is it possible, though, that it’s all just a bunch of hooey? Perhaps, but my own beliefs prevent me from knowing whether or not that is truth or deception.
But what the hell do I know?
And, comment leaver jon, on the note of God not playing the whole comparison game thing, that might be deception in itself. Comparing Christians and non-Christians and torturing the non-Christians for being different – that’s about as judgemental as it gets, my friend.
My advice to everyone is this – treat everyone you know as well as you can without expectation of punishment or reward in the afterlife.
Perhaps, though, that is a self deception. Who knows?
thanks for the hit. my time with you inspired me too. let me go ahead and state that my present state of deception is humility. i suck! yuck. looking to embrace that cloak of humility so i can figure out the next deception. your great man, can’t wait to see you again soon.
kyler – true! but not the angle of comparison i was taking…my friends are Christ followers…my angle was comparing what each of us does for Him, against each other…God compares me to me and what i have done compared to what He had for me to do…sorry if that was confusing…
Julie, I think we might be the same person! I too have recently been struggling with the feeling that what I have to offer isn’t worth much. What I know to be true based on all God has communicated to me is that this feeling is deception. How to reconcile what I feel and convince myself is true with the TRUTH that I know in my heart and live confidently in that TRUTH…that’s the tough one!
After some thought, I think my deception is that I am a selfless person. Am I really? I do things for others, but do I do them just because or because it benefits me as well in some way? Or … maybe my deception is that I know what my deception is!
I kind of think we all struggle with two sides of the coin: either believing that we don’t have anything to offer, or believing that we are too necessary and it can’t be done without us. And maintaining balance between those two, for me anyway, is as difficult as rolling that coin on its edge. Let the coin fall on either side and I am effectively neutralized.
Perhaps just the thought that I have a purchase on tomorrow. It is mine by entitlement so easily forgetting that all belongs to God.
good article pete…worthy of contemplation…
That I have no deceptions.
A deceoption I struggle with is that “fact” is not always “truth”. For example, I may be struggling financially, not knowing exactly how everything is going to get paid. The FACT is that there is not enough money to pay all the bills this paycheck. Thw TRUTH is that “He will provide ALL my needs in Christ Jesus”. The FACT is that I may not feel well, may have a fever and not think I can fave whatever I must be doing. The TRUTH is that “by His stripes I am healed”. I deceive myself often into thinking that the “fact” is “TRUTH’…most of the time it is not!
Man, I cannot even spell….me who is anal about spelling. So, here’s my own spell check: “deception”; “Face”
I’m right there with you, Pete. “If I don’t, it won’t.” I’m working on it though. Likely comes from too many years as a youth pastor where that wasn’t a deception, but a reality!
that god loves me when i do more stuff for him. that people will love me when i’m perfect.
Great post, Pete. Makes you really think. Thanks for sharing. Now I’ll be left pondering the rest of the weekend…
Pete I’m alot like you. I have trust issues and control issues in what I do. I make sure I am double early and leave a lot later to make sure that my part is taken care of. I squirm if I can’t be right there. Great post. Brewster’s blog is good.. really good!!
ane said,
“that people will love me when i’m perfect”
people would really hate you more if you were perfect…ask JESUS…
Mine is taking God’s grace for granted. Sinning consciously ( sin of ommisiion..knowing what is right and not doing it …sin, right?) and then knowing God will forgive but at what cost to my spiritual self…giving a loophole to spiritual attack?
Wow, this is pretty awesome. My disception is image. I have recently been taught a lesson with the senior high girls of my church. This topic of disception goes back to my lesson in that we are decieved with the image that man gives us. I have really been praying about this and feel that God is opening doors for this lesson to go further than just my church. I am looking forward to how God will continue to open the doors. I do believe that women (and men) struggling with self image. God created me in his image.