Defense Mechanisms

                                                When The Door Slams     

"The heart is deceitful above all things. And desperately wicked: Who can know it?
I, the Lord, search the heart. I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways.
And according to the fruit of his doings." 
                                                                                                                                Jeremiah 17:9-10

Our hearts are deceitful.
The heart includes our mind, our emotions, and our will.
       We can be deceived by our thoughts, feelings and actions. Psychology has labeled these ways we deceive or lie to ourselves defense mechanisms. There are many defense mechanisms that can be used.

       We can repress our true feelings and pretend we are doing good, when we are desperately  hurting. Rationalization is a way we avoid the truth and make the unacceptable appear acceptable. Projection is another defense mechanism involving blaming others for our own shortcomings.

       Denial is the refusal to see what really exists or to accept that it is true. There are many other defense mechanisms, but all of them are ways we lie to ourselves.

       The truly wise person is not afraid to face the facts and understand that defense mechanisms is deceitful. A wise person will hate his or her iniquity rather than hide it. The wise person can face him or herself rather than live a life centered on defense mechanisms. 

Lord, help me to see myself clearly. Help me to hate my own sin but lover the sinner, just as You do.   
Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness.