The Big Lie
I want to talk about a lie that's been foisted on us for centuries - “foisted” is an old word, and it means that a lie has been sold to mankind, to you and me, and it has dominated how we live.
It's the lie that says, “I'm not okay, but if I really work hard, I can become okay.” Or maybe it's a variation of it, “I'm not okay. And if I hide from that, I can at least avoid people realizing that I'm not okay.”
This lie started way back in the Garden of Eden when Satan said to Eve, “You know, you're not quite like God enough, so if you just eat from this tree, you can become more like God.” And both Adam and Eve bought into it, and so they sinned.
This lie has gone on down through the centuries, and the Old Covenant was God's effort to show mankind, “You can't measure up by your own effort.” But we still try, and we try, and we try, thinking if we just work hard enough we will be okay. Maybe it's in a dating relationship, where if we could just do enough, this person will like us. Maybe girls are thinking, “This guy will like me if I have sex with him because I'm not okay just as myself.” And oftentimes the guys are thinking, “I don't really feel adequate. But if I can conquer this woman, then I can prove that I'm adequate, and that I'm manly enough.” This same lie, that we don’t measure up, goes on at work and in relationships and families.
We believe that we are not okay, but that we can do something about it. The Pharisees struggled with this. When we read the gospels, we see that the Pharisees thought if they measured up to the performance of the law, then they would be okay. Consider the Pharisee who prayed, “Lord, I thank you that I am not like the sinner over there.” He bought into the lie and believed that, “I'm not okay, but I can do something to make myself okay.”
The truth is, if you don't know Christ as your Savior, you are not okay.
I hate to tell you that, but you're not okay. Because it's only by receiving the work of Christ on the Cross that makes you okay. That's what gives you His righteousness and His acceptance - it's not based on your work. And the big lie says, “I'm not okay, but I can do something to be okay.” Or maybe for you, it's, “I am okay. Look at all that I have accomplished.” But this is still the same lie; you are still trying to make yourself okay by your own performance.
Thankfully, God provides us with a whole different solution. It's in Christ that we become okay, so that we can begin to rest. Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30 (NASB)