Lies or Truth

Aug 29, 2011 | Faith

“It was a lie….”

This statement was one of the first encounters in grad school throwing me for a loop. People talking about lies and truth so confidently.  How could someone talk about lies so confidently?  I mean, how does one discern “a lie?”

Then I learned “lies” have big, fancy names called “cognitive distortions.” 
 I also learned I knew them all too well.

Somewhere in the psyche or socialization of women, we pick up distorted truths. It usually begins in adolescence, if not before.

You’re fat.
You’re ugly.
Who would want you?
Your value is in what you look like.
It’s your fault.
You’re unlovable.
You’re nothing without a boyfriend.
If only I were prettier, life would be better

And the list goes on.

No wonder I questioned my friend who seemed so confident in calling lies “Lies.”  The only lies I identified before were things I knew were not true based on fact.

But the more I acknowledge cognitive distortions, the more I realize things we think are true are often distorted truths of  reality.  In the Christian realm, we often identify these as lies of the enemy.

Lies the enemy whispers in our ears.  Lies we believe because we often don’t hear the truth that counteracts them

You are beautiful the way you are.
There is nothing you need to change in order to be loved.
You do not deserve to be disrespected.
Your value is found in the Lord, not in a man or children.


And the list goes on. 

Counteracted truth can best be found in the Word of the Living God.

As I’ve combated lies the enemy has thrown my way since childhood, I’ve come to know the Word of God is the only source I can stand on.  As a young girl trying to overcome an eating disorder, therapy didn’t “fix” my problem.  My parents, boyfriend-husband didn’t fix it, only the Word of God becoming truth to me gave me hope and perspective for a problem no one seemed to understand or give words of healing to.

Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.  I Corinthians 10:23



No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful.  He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.  I Corinthians 10:13.


These were two truths that became real to me, counteracting lies that yelled nothing but despair, lack of hope, shame, and self-loathing.

The lie said since there was nothing in me that was lovable, I needed to be perfect.
The lie said since I wasn’t pretty, I had to be thin to avoid rejection.
The lie said I wasn’t good enough.
The truth said God would provide a way out.  One night He did.  I ate, didn’t purge, and fell asleep. I woke up and my day went on as usual.  As I interacted with others, people did not turn me away in disgust.  They didn’t reject me because I allowed food to remain in my body.  People didn’t reject me because of how I looked.

God’s truth was He would provide a way out, and He did.
Lies counter-acted with truth.  
And the the first step to healing began.

I don’t know what lies are whispered in your ears, but we have confidence in calling lies what they are: Untruths.  
False reports.
Deception from the enemy.

And the more we are in His word, the easier it becomes to identify lies for what they are, replacing them with truth.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  1 John 3:1


Just one truth to tuck away for when the lies begin to linger around our ears. 
We are lavishly loved as daughters of the Most High God.
The greatest truth Today.

Seriously. 
(No lie.)


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Do you feel trapped in a chaotic, relentless, demanding lifestyle? No matter where you live or what season of life you’re in, you can find inspiration from the simpler life. 

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