Self-Deception
According to Eph 4:17-19 (TNIV), believers are commanded to not live in deception. These verses express a number of sources of deception.
We can be deceived through: (1) Futile and false notions (4:17, NEB). Examples might include “I must go back and bury my father” and “I shouldn’t have to go through this hardship.” Any form of cognitive error or extra-biblical requirements would surely fit in here. (2) Ignorance because we resist doing God’s will and, so, suppress the knowledge of the truth we don’t want to live (4:18, CJB). To name but one example, we do this when we don’t try to hear what He wants from us. We are ignoring Him or, on a practical level, are indifferent to Him. (3) Reluctance to respond to God that can be described as being hardened toward the Lord (4:18). (4) Insensitivity to the Lord leading to spiritual apathy (4:19). We aren’t zealous for Him as we should be (Rom 12:11, AB). (5) A lusting for more that is a determination to satisfy our own interests (4:19). (6) A sinful sensuousness (4:19) that involves an absence of restraint (CWSD, #766). It is like a runner who doesn’t stay within his prescribed lane – or a believer who doesn’t stay within the assignment God has given him (2 Cor 10:13). (7) Abandoning ourself (4:19) to something or someone other than God.
Being deceived can dull our sense of what is right and wrong (Eph 4:19, NJB) and hinder our spiritual progress in our assigned area. Eventually, we can become unresponsive to God’s voice leading to hurt in the body of Christ (Eph 4:16). The terrifying result is that God may abandon us to the consequences of our choice. Not a comforting thought!
When God wants a couple or family to alter course, the revelation is normally clear.