The River in Egypt

"But he denied it saying, 'I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.'" Mark 14:68

This is a quote from Peter, literally one of his denials. Does it sound familiar? Is Peter taking the fifth or is he just making a lame attempt to cover his own tracks to deal with his aching conscience and culpability? Have you ever seen the cartoon of a dead cow on his back, rigor mortis setting in and feet straight up in the air? The caption reads, "Really, I’m fine."

We’re all experts at denying our problems, aren’t we? We deny compulsive behavior. We deny sexual addiction. We deny anorexia and bulimia. We deny overeating and controlling behavior and drug abuse. We deny our constant denying. Our first words are so often defensive. We lie at the drop of a hat, claiming that it was not us who dropped the hat.

In Texas they have a saying about denial that’s a bit course, but gets the point across. “If one person tells you, ‘you’re a horse’s rear’,” the saying goes, “forget it. If two people tell you ‘you’re a horse’s rear,’ you’d better take a look in the mirror. But if three people tell you ‘you’re a horse’s rear,’ you’d better buy a saddle.” This is why we avoid at all costs, admitting our mistakes. What is it? Pride? Fear of embarrassment?

One particular form of denial is to change external things to alleviate an internal problem. For example, a person who overeats might lose weight, but start smoking. Or an alcoholic might stop drinking only to manifest the symptoms of a workaholic. Such a person moves from addiction to addiction, refusing to address the root problem. What is it? Pride? Fear of embarrassment? Why do we deny that?

Do you know the way out of denial? It’s quite simple. The way out of denial is pain. Pain breaks through the wall of denial every single time. C.S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures. God speaks to us in our conscience. God shouts at us in our pain. Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” If there is an area of your life that is out of control, follow the pain and it will lead you to the real root of the problem. Give up denial. Only people who admit problems can find solutions.

Portions of this devotional came from Pastor Ed Young who writes well and who is quite precise in his analysis. I love the Texan saying and the quote from C.S. Lewis. Very illustrative. I hope these thoughts from Pastors Ed and Fred help you today to embrace the pain of the solution to denial. Or, you could just deny the pain and wince and carry on in your oblivia. We have something to learn here, join me in the process.

In Him,
Pastor Fred

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