The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1941-02-28
Good Neighbors
BY s. T. McCants
Deceitfulness

From our childhood on, we have
been taught that it is a sin to
deceive others. The fact is that
our deception of others does not
compare in Importance with
deception of ourselves. Indeed,
one of the major uses of the hui
man mind is to concoct excuses,
evasions, decentralization and ev-
cry kind of self defensive false
hood that will mage wrong look
like right. They substitute plea
SAINT fantasy for unpleasant re-
atty. The very word mental, CO.
vering the whole realm of mind,
and the word mendacity, meaning
the habit of deceit, comes from the
same stem, as though our language
itself recognized the ancient truth
which modern psychiatry has
brought to light, that one of the
chief uses of mental faculties is
mendacity.
Let's see what the new tesla
ment has to say concerning de-
ceit. James writes: Be doors of
the word, and not hearers only,
deluding your own selves.
Paul writing to the Galations
describes the man who he says
deceiveth himself, thinketh him.
self to be something when he is
nothing, and writing to the Cor
inthians, cries: Let no man deceive
himself. John writes, If we say we
have no sin, we deceive ouselves.
While Christ speaks about the de-
ceitfulness of riches by which a
man fools himself into thinking
he is other than he really is. The
end of life's road is seldom if ever,
like the beginning. Like beauti-
full street leading to the highway
of life, in the city, the beginning is
lined with beautiful trees and
, flowers. But, as we travel on far
enough, we find ourselves in the
sterility of death valley, and all
the while we are trying to pur-
suade ourselves to believe that the
end will be as it was in the begin
ming. Paul says be not deceived,
that is, do not fool yourself; God
is not Knocked for whatsoever a
man soweth, that shall he also
reap.
Centuries before Christ, Thales,
the great Great Philosopher, was
asked: What is most difficult y?
And he replied, To know myself,
self pity is self deceit. The great
day arrives in every mans life
when he comes to grip with him
self. To some objective, clear
sighted, realistic view of himself,
who indeed can bear that sight 7?
But, if it leads to humility, to pen
| itence to the cessation of face saw
ing, to amendment, to making the
most of his best for the sake of
others, then it is worth the sur
render of all fantasies with which
he has concealed himself from
himself. 1t seems to me that the
religion of our mothers and faith
ers was made of sterner stuff
than that of ours today. They did
not shrink from facing the tragic
aspects of human life. They en-
dured everything the Pilgrim faith
ers endured and in these tragic
days when mems hearts are fail
ing them, I think it would be adj
visable to us all to go back to these
faithful forbearers of great faith
in God and catch the element of
their spirit, that We might be able
to face the stern actualities of
life as did they, without blink
ing an eye.
Today we face the deep issues
of life for the hours do come like
those we face now, when having
believed in high ideals, tried to
serve them, and we hoped and
prayed for their victory, but now
we see human nature in all its in
corrigible wickedness, and human
society, plagued with demons
plunging down a deep place into
the sea. We are tempted to cry as
did Joan of Arc, in the darkest
hour of her experience, My voices
have deceived me.
1t is in these dark hours that
we now experience that we need
the genuine and realistic religion
of our forfathers and mothers to
sustain us. 1 do not believe that
| the great voices will deceive us.
Languages die, while language is
immortal, so religion dies, but re-
ligion is eternal. The very terrors
of these tragic times are them
selves the evidence of moral law in
the universe that brings the in