One night when I was a little girl, I was served baked beans with dinner. I detested baked beans. A battle of the wills ensued with my mom telling me to eat my dinner and me stalling and refusing. Eventually I asked, “How many beans do I have to eat?” My exhausted mom answered, “Just a few.” “How many is a few?” I asked. Battle-worn, she quickly answered, “Eight.” From that moment on, until sometime in college, I believed that that “a few” was a specific amount, like a dozen or a score. A few = 8. Imagine how foolish I felt when I realized that something I’d thought for most of my life turned out to be dead wrong.
There are a lot of cute errors that kids commonly think are facts: Teachers live at the school. Factories are where clouds are made. Everything on planet earth in the olden days used to actually be colored black and white.
Unfortunately, that phenomenon can continue into adulthood. But it’s not as cute when we’re grown up. The lies we believe are dangerous to our faith: I will never get over _____. If I have _____ then I will be happy. If I do _____, God will finally love me. If God really loved me then He would do _____ for me.
I know it’s easier said than done, but we have to stop believing lies like these. We have to find out the truth that God’s word says and change the way we think. Or as Jesus said, “Repent, and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:15).
This week’s Bible story tells of a prophet who boldly read God’s word until the people repented and believed. Sorrow from their sin made the people weep but Ezra and Nehemiah told them that changing their thinking and believing God’s word was cause for great celebration.
As embarrassing as it was to admit I was wrong about the definition of the word “few,” I’m glad I know the truth. Let’s not be ashamed to repent and believe—let’s be encouraged and motivated!
May God give us the eyes to recognize lifelong lies we’ve been believing and purposefully replace them with His glorious gospel truth.
With love,
