school, he was sick inside. While his friend did not know it, all the way to school he was looking through his own windshield. The missionary pointed out that there was no joy in living a lie and being deceptive. He had to make it right and confess what he had done. You cannot live a lie and be hap py! If you cheat on your husband or wife, if you cheat on your in come tax, if you cheat to your chil dren or to your parents, you are living a lie. There is only agony and anguish for that kind of life. John now seems to repeat him self when he writes, "And if we say that we have no sin, we de ceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (vs. 8). But the sense is different. To deceive is not neces sarily the same as lying. Verse eight is a picture of one who has de ceived himself into thinking that he is actually better than he is. Peter uses the same Creek word when he speaks of sheep being de ceived and going astray in I Peter 2:25. Sheep do not deliberately try to get lost. They go astray because they lose touch with the flock or with the shepherd. What a picture this is of our lives, too. You cannot possibly have full joy if you live in a way that seeks self deception. An individual who considers him self better than he really is, and believes it, is miserable. He can never live up to his expectations and is constantly frustrated. A golf er is frustrated if he once shoots 79 and then considers that his stand ard score even though he rarely comes close. The Christian is also frustrated if he considers himself spiritually better than he actually is. Do not deceive yourself, there is no joy there even as there is no Page 27
tianity to a searching soul both tantalize and frustrate rather than satisfy. When the foundation is secure the practical steps need to follow. Briefly they are three. Do not live a lie before God. Do not deceive yourself into thinking you are bet ter than you really are. And, do not live in conflict with others. These are all given in just a few verses in I John 1 and 2. First, do not live a lie before Cod. I John 1:6 says "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." The word for lie in this verse conveys the idea of an outright falsehood. We know we are wrong but we go ahead anyway. If you say you are a Chris tian but are not or at least do not live as one, you may be saying to Cod, "I'm all right God, I don't need to live any differently. My life is acceptable." But that is a lie and we probably clearly know it. There is no joy when you lie to God. We need to confess and walk as Cod would have us walk. Several years ago I heard a mis sionary statesman give an illustra tion which has remained with me. It points up this truth effectively. He said that when he was growing up he had a "Model T" Ford. One day he happened to break the windshield. Remembering that a friend of his, whom he frequently took to school, also had a "Model T" he hit upon a solution. The other car was kept out behind his friend's house since it was not run ning. So, late at night, he went over and very carefully removed the windshield, taking it home to install on his own car. The next day, when he took his friend to
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