Deception is one of the primary tools of the enemy of our souls. John 8:44 states that the devil is a liar and he has been a liar from the beginning. The problem with believing lies is that they affect our very identity. The Book of Proverbs (23:7) says that as a man thinks in their heart, so is he. From this we learn that our thoughts are all-important. Children who are young and impressionable have very little ability to filter or reject messages they receive about themselves. Particularly, if a person in a position of authority says something, most young children between birth and the age of seven believe it as if it is true. Sometimes the messages are directly spoken. “You are no good, just like your father.” “You are stupid, you’ll never measure up.” “You’re damaged goods. No one will ever want you.” These shaming messages run very deep into the heart of a child. When they are internalized and accepted as if they were true, the child lives out these messages in their attitude, feelings and behavior.

Some lies are also communicated without words. For example, in families where children are expected to be perfect, it may never be explicitly stated but the message is clear that it is not okay for the child to make a mistake. If the child makes a mistake, they may believe that they are a mistake. When these children grow into adulthood, they will be attracted to people and circumstances that perpetuate the lie that they can’t be human by making a mistake. Eventually, these lies are so internalized that they don’t need to be said by anyone else. For example, when someone we are in a relationship with cheats on us, we tell ourselves that something is wrong with us and that we are simply not enough and forget that we are worth so much more and that we don’t deserve to be treated like that. We continuously bring ourselves down by saying bad things about ourselves, constantly repeating these words inside our heads until we believe them to be true. But who is suffering? Who is hurting? Isn’t it just us who are in constant pain because of the bad things we say about ourselves?

Unless these lies are brought to the surfaced and rejected, they will continually cause problems. Jesus promised. “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Where do we find the truth about ourselves? We find it in God’s Word. God created us. Therefore, we are of infinite value to him. Jesus died to save us giving his own life that we might live. His love for us speaks to how precious we are to him. Many other Scriptures also speak of our value to God. While Christians may give mental assent to these truths, in their hearts they may doubt that they can be that precious to God. They may even be angry with God because he allowed the damage to occur in the first place. They may believe lies about God and other people in addition to themselves. However, God unchanging love is the one constant in the universe, the truth that he seeks to plant deeply into the hearts of his broken, doubting children.