September 2017 - davidherin.org

LIE: I can become more worthy of God’s love

Lie: I can (should try to or must) become more worthy of God’s love.
Truth: We can live and feel more worthy of God’s love, but we cannot be more worthy.

Divine love is at the heart of the gospel. Love is what moves God to rescue us: “For God so loved the world that he gave . . .” and “God demonstrated his love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” It’s a truth and a message almost too good to be true, yet unless we believe it – that we are loved – first by our parents and then by God, we cannot really flourish in life.

LIE: Understanding truths is simply a matter of applying my mind

Lie: Understanding truths is simply a matter of applying my mind.
Truth: Some truths can only be understood by the mind and the Spirit.

We must humble our minds and accept that we’re hopelessly confounded by our mysterious mind/brains. A thought arises, from where we don’t really know. We effortlessly recall things even from our early childhood. We hear something and immediately feel a dread we cannot understand. Sometimes we try to recall someone’s name, which we know, but can’t for the life of us remember. Why? Perhaps . . .

LIE: I cannot feel secure unless I know what’s happening in the world

Lie: I can’t feel secure unless I know what’s happening in the world.
Truth: We feel less secure the more we know what’s happening in the world.

This deception – that we’ll feel more secure by knowing what’s happening with remote events like, the war in Syria or the latest Zika casualty numbers or where the Mars rover happens to be – is easy to see as soon as the words are spoken. But how and why does this notion seduce us to feel more secure?

LIE: I have a right to punish those who hurt me

Lie: I have a right to punish those who hurt me.
Truth: I have a responsibility to love those who hurt me.
Vengeance comes in many ‘christianized’ forms. Many of those forms are accepted or winked at by Christians as harmless and unavoidable – forms such as: the ‘silent treatment’ — ignoring, shunning, avoiding, rejecting in their many forms — so-called righteous indignation, flaming emails, gossip and slander, sowing discord among brethren, ‘evil eyes,’ ‘cold shoulders,’ or intimidating looks. These may appear to be small slights that people shouldn’t ‘be so sensitive about’ or ‘should just get over.’ But while that may be true, these forms of vengeance can also do major