I’m not sick. I hate being sick. I hate it so much, I often try to simply deny it and tell myself I am not sick. My nose may be competing with the garden hose for pressure, every Kleenex in the house may be used up, and my voice sounds like I was gargling with gravel, but I AM NOT SICK!

Okay, I am sick. Reality has a way of breaking through my self delusions. But other times I can hold on to my delusions for a good long while. I just finished a weight loss challenge over the past twelve weeks, and it went very well for me. Frankly I won having lost an entire 4 year old. Seriously, if my son Luke got on the scale with me now, both of us together would weigh what I used to weigh alone.

As part of the challenge we took before and after pictures. Of course I am a really handsome guy so the pictures should reflect that. But frankly I was embarrassed. Was I really that fat? I certainly don’t remember being that big, that unhealthy. Of course I knew I was “a bit overweight,” I knew I could “stand to lose a few pounds.” But really, that overweight? That many pounds?

It makes me wonder how often we lie to ourselves concerning the evil within us? Do we tell ourselves our selfishness isn’t that big of a problem? Do we say that our lives of chaos are simply temporary states of affairs? Do we say that our lack of healthy relationships with others is no big deal? Do we tell ourselves that we are better at being a part of a church than most people?

Of course we lie to ourselves. I guess the only real chance we have is if we allow the truth to penetrate us.

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” – John 3:19-21

Let us bring our sins to the Light of Christ and let our sickness be healed. And pass me a Kleenex, because I too am sick.