Illusionary living

You say, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord." – Malachi 2:17

An illusion is defined as "an erroneous perception of reality". Magicians depend on it to trick their audiences. But some illusions can be fatal. If I chase a mirage in the desert, thinking it’s water, I could die of thirst.

The most dangerous illusions of all are spiritual. In Malachi’s time, men no longer saw the seriousness of the marriage covenant and were divorcing their wives without just cause. God’s people said, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them" (2:17). They were not seeing things as God sees them.

We are all prone to this kind of self-deception. Sin clouds our ability to see right and wrong. "The heart is deceitful above all things, . . . who can know it?" (JEREMIAH 17:9)

Living under such illusions must be replaced by reality. And this can happen through hard times. Adversity and pain have a way of ridding our lives of falseness. We are then better able to fill the emptiness with truth.

As we depend on God’s Spirit to help us learn and obey the Bible’s teachings, illusions are replaced by the truth of God’s love and forgiveness in Christ. This is the only reality that truly satisfies the deepest longings of our hearts and leads us to a desire to be like Him. – Dennis J. De Haan

If we would love what’s good and right,

We must be pure within;

But if we compromise the truth,

We lose our sense of sin. – Dennis J. De Haan

Read: Malachi 2:13-17

To avoid being drawn into error, keep a firm grip on the truth.