You know what they say: you can fool some of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time. And yet we each seem to have a boundless capacity for fooling ourselves.

Up to the age of around forty, I was completely unaware that I’d made my life all about me – my wants, my feelings, my reputation, my success. As a result, I’ve lived almost half my adulthood in self-delusion, convinced that I was a good person. That’s scary, but not all that uncommon.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such boasters are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end will match their deeds. (NRSV)

That’s the Apostle Paul talking about those who’d set themselves up as false teachers to lead others astray. But no matter who we are, there’s always that temptation to delude ourselves, to try to fool those around us, to harbour wrong intentions in our dark hearts while dressing ourselves up as angels of light.

Well, you may be able to fool yourself for a good long time, you may be able to fool others some of the time, but you’ll never be able to fool God who sees through it all!

So in all earnestness I urge you to take stock of what’s going on in your heart. Don’t fool yourself because your end will match your deeds.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.