53 But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God. And he said unto me: There is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say. And I have taught his words; and I taught them because they were pleasing unto the carnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed that they were true; and for this cause I withstood the truth, even until I have brought this great curse upon me.
In this verse, Korihor gives us some insight into the snare of self-deception. In particular, he gives two reasons for his own stubborn resistance to the truth:
- The falsehoods he taught were “pleasing to the carnal mind.” Sometimes we want something to be true so badly that we refuse to acknowledge evidence which might call it into question.
- He “had much success,” which meant that the people around him were continually reinforcing his false beliefs.
Self-deception is guaranteed to end badly. The truth does not change, and eventually, we will reach a point where we can no longer ignore or deny that we are wrong.
Today, I will be honest with myself. I will remember that it is easier to accept and act upon truths today than it is to hide from them and face the same truths tomorrow.
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