I confess, I have long been a fan of dry humor and witty puns and homonyms. The cleverest of puns still tickle me because of the unexpected twist that causes my mind to quickly think in a different way.

I discovered one such example years ago when I was contemplating the way I would sometimes “rationalize” things that weren’t true. Have you ever done that? Act or think in a wrong way yet ‘rationalize’ that you are actually right? It is pride’s attempt to excuse the need to look at oneself or a situation through eyes filtered by truth.

Saying the word “rationalize” out loud over and over and ever so slowly, I heard the words “rational lies.” And it occurred to me that while I was trying to rationalize/justify my behavior and thoughts, I was actually telling myself lies that my pride wanted to make rational: hence, rational lies.

Rationality is defined as “the quality or state of being reasonable. (It) implies the conformity of one’s beliefs with one’s reasons to believe, or of one’s actions with one’s reasons for action. A rational decision is one that is not just reasoned, but is also optimal for achieving a goal or solving a problem.”

One problem with human rationality is that our ‘reason’ is often twisted by our desire to solve a problem our own way and to our benefit. We perceive facts and situations through our own filters, not always as they really are. And when our “rationalizing” is based on our internalized and often misguided filtering, believing in “rational lies” is really an irrational behavior…”irrational rationality.”

I gave one example in an earlier blog post when as a small child, I rationalized that my mother had abandoned me in a large department store. After all, I suddenly found myself all alone, frightened and angry. So instead of dealing with the real truth that it was I who had strayed, I ‘rationalized’ that she had left me. With such rationalization, didn’t I have a ‘right’ be angry?

Isn’t it sometimes that way in our relationship with God? We begin to forget God’s presence in our lives, we turn away from His direction and go our own way. Suddenly, we find ourselves in a desperate situation and wonder why God abandoned us. But in reality, we were the ones who abandoned Him.

The way to deal with ‘rational lies’ is to bring them in comparison with Truth. It is the same way bankers examine potentially counterfeit bills; they compare them side by side with the real ones. Consider what ‘rational lies’ you sometimes believe and bring them to the One True God today. Let Him help you compare them to His truth.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15