January 24: Honest With Yourself First

You can fool your spouse for a while. Your boss for longer. But the person you’ve fooled the most is the one in the mirror.

John says that if we claim we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth isn’t in us. Notice the word: ourselves. Not just other people. The first person a lie convinces is the one telling it.

Drinkers are often very good at self-deception. Not because they’re worse people, but because the drinking needs it. To keep going, you have to believe some things that aren’t true. That it isn’t affecting your work. That the kids don’t notice. That you’ll cut back next week. That you can stop whenever you want. Each of these beliefs protects the drinking.

Step One cuts through this. It’s not a confession to the world. It begins as a confession to yourself. “We admitted we were powerless” is first an inside job. Before you can say it to anyone else, you have to stop arguing with it in your own head.

Then look at the promise in verse nine. If we confess, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us and to cleanse us. Confession doesn’t lead to punishment. It leads to cleansing. The honest admission is the door to being washed, not the door to being condemned.

So why is it so hard? Because self-deception feels safer. If you admit the truth, you might have to change. The lie lets you stay where you are a little longer. But staying where you are is exactly what’s been hurting you.

Here is a practical help. Ask someone who knows you well what they’ve noticed about your drinking. Don’t argue. Just listen and take notes. It’s often easier to see ourselves through someone else’s eyes than through our own, which are so used to looking away.

A doctor can be a good person to ask too. Tell them the real numbers. They’ve heard it before.

One thing today

Write down one thing you’ve told yourself about drinking that you know, deep down, isn’t true. Then pray verse nine over it.

A prayer

God, I’ve lied to myself the longest. Give me eyes to see what’s true. Thank You that when I confess, You forgive and wash me clean.

The honesty of Step One begins inside.

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