We lie to ourselves all the time: “I haven’t gained any weight.” “I’m not hurting anyone.” “No one even noticed.”

But one lie is more dangerous than most: “It’s not really a problem.” We tell ourselves that our finances aren’t a problem, our marriage isn’t in trouble, and our temper isn’t out of control.

Lying to ourselves is the number one way we mess up our lives. The Bible says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 NIV). Sin causes us to deceive ourselves, and deception causes us to sin. 

Behind every self-defeating act in our lives is a lie we’ve believed. Either we’ve lied to ourselves or we’ve believed one of Satan’s lies. The Bible says our heart is “deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9 NIV). You and I have an amazing ability to lie to ourselves.

It’s time to stop. Stop rationalizing. Stop minimizing your behavior. Stop excusing. Stop tolerating.

To stop defeating yourself—doing all of those self-defeating behaviors that cripple your ability to follow Jesus faithfully—you have to stop deceiving yourself. Jesus said, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NIV). But first, the truth will make you miserable! You can’t break free from these self-defeating behaviors if you won’t admit they exist.

You can’t beat the problem if you’re lying to yourself about it. Victory starts with telling the truth about yourself and being willing to do something about it.