It’s been said that Satan is a liar. But his lies aren’t as blatantly obvious as you might think. They operate closer to 90% truth and 10% lie, but always 100% deception. If a lie was obvious, we wouldn’t buy into it so quickly or easily. You see, many of the lies we believe actually “have a toehold in reality,” as our writer puts it.
A psychologist and counselor, Dr. Chris Thurman explores thirty common misconceptions in The Lies We Believe.Broken down into five categories: self, worldly, marital, distortion, and religious lies, these lies manifest themselves deep within many of our thought patterns and belief systems. And we may not even know we fall into these falsehoods until they are finally unveiled and confronted. Lies like “my unhappiness is someone else’s fault” or “people are basically good” or maybe even “God’s love must be earned” are lies that limit us and cripple our relationships with one another.
The Lies We Believeis broken into separate parts, beginning with 1) the lies we believe and then 2) the actual truth. I appreciate the way Thurman identifies our faulty thinking, allowing us to shed light into darkness and break the chains of these misconceptions. But, he doesn’t stop there. He then helps us replace those lies with powerful, biblically based truths like “to err is human” and “you can’t please everyone.” These truths almost seem too simple at first read. But as you dig into them and realize how you’ve misconstrued them and polluted them with false, worldly teachings, you are challenged to alter an old way of thinking.
Each chapter in part one and part two of this book ends with a “growthwork” assignment so you can apply what you’ve read into your own life and really examine and dig into your past thought patterns and subsequent behaviors. This is a great preface to the third part of the book which is about living out these truths. In this third section, the reader is given twelve weeks of activities to complete for a total rehaul of any erroneous beliefs. Some of the activities include “ discovering your identity” (a topic I’m passionate about) and “defeating the need for approval.” I encourage you to use more than a week on each activity if that’s what it takes in your personal journey. Thurman even includes several appendices in which he offers the biblical support for his teachings on truths and lies – something I appreciate as a biblically trained counselor.
This book works great for individual reading and self-examination, as well as for a group study. With several self-assessment activities to complete, Lies We Believeis actually more like a workbook at times – an ideal feature for engagement and authenticity. It’s a lengthier book than some of my other reviews, but it takes time to identify and dig out lies and then solidify any solid rock truths that should be there. Transformation in thinking is not an overnight process, so be ready and willing to be honest with yourself and to customize these applications through the exercises included within its pages.
-Joel Walton