“For we have made lies our refuge,
and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves” (Isa 28:15, NKJV)
We are currently busy with a series of teachings that deal with the fourteen spirits that are explicitly named in the Bible, and we’ve just concluded our discussion on the third spirit, the spirit of jealousy. Today we are starting with the spirit of lying.
The psychologist M Scott Peck, in his book The Road Less Travelled, wrote about basic Christian concepts, but he spiced it with Buddhism, Islamic mysticism, and New Age thinking. Despite its syncretic nature, the book was a worldwide hit. In his next book he confessed that he had since become born-again and had been baptised. His new book was to a large extent the result of this immense change in his life, and that this change had been mostly wrought by his experience with the reality of Evil.
His next book was thus aptly titled People of the Lie – The Hope for Healing Human Evil. The main title is striking, but the subtitle is very confusing – are these “people of the lie” the hope that is offered for the healing of human evil? And you can also ask – what about evil that is not linked to humans? And then obviously the million dollar question – is there any possibility that evil can indeed be healed? It is, after all, not an illness. Yet despite the clumsy subtitle this book is a very insightful personal journey that tries to unite the fields of spirituality and psychology. It is a complex subject and dangerous terrain for someone who is not familiar with the spiritual realm, and particularly the demonic realm.
Peck’s exposure to demons within people opened up a completely new dimension for him. He does not necessarily bring about a new perspective on the nature of evil, but does offer various insights that can help us in understanding and dealing with Evil in our lives. I would like to convey a few of the most important insights the book has to offer as a starting point to our larger discussion regarding the spirit of lying, as it is eventually the primary conclusion Peck reaches in his book – Evil manifests in “People of the Lie”. He states it as follows – “wherever there is evil, there’s a lie around” (p. 153). Satan is of course the father of the lie: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8:44).
We will need to spend a lot more time on this verse, but in the light of it, consider the following insights that Peck makes about us as “people of the lie”:
- “The lie is designed not so much to deceive others, as to deceive ourselves.” (p. 84).
- “We become evil by attempting to hide from ourselves.” (p. 85).
- “Satan has no power except in a human body … The only power that Satan has is through human belief in its lies.” (pp. 236-237).
The next teaching will start exploring this, and various other related aspects, of the spirit of lying.
- Selah: Prayerfully ponder Peck’s three statements.
- Read: Ex. 37-40
- Memorise: Ex. 40:37
- For a more in-depth understanding: Read Peck’s book.
