A L M A C I A S

SELF DECEPTION

Have you ever been deceived by anyone? If you have, you must know that it is not a pleasant experience. In the book of Galatians, chapter 6, the apostle Paul writes regarding what we consider the worst kind of deception ­ self deception. It is bad enough when someone else has deceived us, but it is worse when we have been self-deceived. We read in Galatians 6:7-8, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." What did the apostle Paul want the Galatians to understand from this passage of Scripture; what did the apostle Paul want us to understand from this passage of Scripture?

According to this passage of Scripture, one way we can deceive ourselves is by thinking that we can mock God like we sometimes mock each other. Now the word used here for "mock" in the Greek has the meaning of outwitting someone, outsmarting someone. The apostle Paul says that if we think we can do this to God, we are deceiving ourselves. But how is it that we might try to outwit or outsmart God? Paul says we do that when we think we can sow one thing and yet reap something else. The idea of sowing and reaping should not be hard for anyone to understand. We have seen this over and over in so many areas of life. Sometimes it might be phrased a little differently but it is still the same principle. What we put into something will be what we get out. How much we put into something will also determine how much we will get out.

We see this principle working in individuals, in families, in communities, and even in nations. This same principle works in our Christian lives. We should never believe that we can live lives of the flesh, lives of sin and yet expect to enjoy everlasting life together with those who did live according to the Spirit. To live according to the flesh is to set aside the commandments of God and live in whatever way makes us the happiest. To live according to the Spirit, is to live according to the Word of God and make the spiritual the most important part of our lives, always putting our priorities in the right places. How are we living?