“Above all, do not lie to yourself. A man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point where he does not discern any truth either in himself or anywhere around him, and thus falls into disrespect towards himself and others...” #Dostoyevsky
“Not respecting anyone, he ceases to love, and having no love, he gives himself up to passions and coarse pleasures in order to occupy and amuse himself, and in his vices reaches complete bestiality, and it all comes from lying continually to others and himself.” #Dostoyevsky
Why is self-deception a prominent feature in self-destruction? Because moral absolutes exist & are inborn to each person on earth—“It is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves” (Moses 6:56). We know. To excuse sin, we must lie.
Lying to oneself isn’t easy at first. Even a child senses the wrongness of striking another child. He must tell himself he’s justified, tho he knows mercy is better. The more often he justifies, the more foreign mercy will become. He has lied until he no longer recognizes truth.
But absolutes are persistent. Even a human skilled in self-deception can’t silence them entirely but lives perpetually in a state of self-condemnation. There must be more denial, shouting, more external chaos to drown out internal conflict. God will not give up his child easily.
The human who will at last have his own will over God’s has but one course of action: cease being “human,” or as Dostoyevsky says, “[reach] complete bestiality,” reduce oneself to a beast & release all claim on our holy lineage. “God is not my father. I am but an animal.”
It’s a long road riddled w/self-deception for an offspring of heaven to arrive at such a tragic state. We are, each moment, deciding whether to be self-honest, true to truth, children of absolute virtues, or to lie to ourselves & confuse that inborn, merciful gift of discernment.
Today, you’ll make choices that lead to one or the other. Choose truth & progress toward becoming an eternal being of light & sentience. Or choose lies & stumble into the dark where men are stripped of holiness & base animals are bred. You have now. Now matters. Be wise. #HearHim
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