Deacon Keith Strohm - The Ten Biggest Lies of the Enemy and How to Combat Them

BIGGEST
LIES

OF THE

ENEMY

AND HOW TO COMBAT THEM

BIGGEST
LIES

OF THE

ENEMY

AND HOW TO COMBAT THEM

DEACON

Keith Strohm

Copyright 2018 Keith Strohm
All rights reserved.

Published by The Word Among Us Press
7115 Guilford Drive, Suite 100
Frederick, Maryland 21704
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22 21 20 19 181 2 3 4 5

ISBN: 978-1-59325-330-1

eISBN: 978-1-59325-505-3

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.

All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked RSVCE are from the Revised Standard Version of the BibleSecond Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition), 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) for use in the United States of America, Second Edition, copyright 1997, by the United States Catholic ConferenceLibreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Cover design by Faceout Studio

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the author and publisher.

Made and printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018934144

All the names and identifying circumstances of people in the stories that appear in this book have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Acknowledgements

Far more goes into the creation of a book than an authors words.

Book publishing is a team sport, and I am surrounded by an amazing team, many of whom I have never metyet that hasnt stopped them from pouring their passion, creativity, and technical talents into making this project a reality. This book would not have happened without the providential movement of the Holy Spirit, the prayer and discernment of The Word Among Us Press team, and especially the initiative of Beth McNamara, the publisher. Like any relationship, the collaboration between an author and a publishing team takes commitment, hard work, mutual respect, willingness to compromise, and a host of other qualities. Most times it works well; sometimes it doesnt. But every so often, in the mysterious workings of Divine Providence and human receptivity, that collaboration becomes something truly special, a real partnership.

This book is proof of that partnership.

So, I wanted to take this opportunity to offer my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for the entire staff of The Word Among Us Pressespecially Jeff Smith, President; Beth McNamara, Publisher; Cindy Cavnar, my incredibly talented editor; and all of the marketing, sales, logistics, and administrative folks. Your efforts on behalf of this book are both humbling and deeply encouraging. The fruits that the Lord will bring forth from this book will be just as much a result of your collaboration as mine. I look forward to what the Lord does with this partnership in the future.

I would also be remiss if I didnt take a few moments to thank Kristen Bird, Executive Director of Burning Hearts Disciples and a close friend, colleague, and collaborator. A few weeks after signing the contract for this book, Kristen and I led a parish mission focusing on the lies of the Enemy. Her insight and ability to communicate the love of the Father were instrumental in shaping my approach to this project.

As usual, Id also like to thank my gang of collaborators, especially Fr. Matt Bozovsky for his theological acumen, Bobby Vidal for sharing his expertise as well as insight into personal friendship with the saints, Rachel Espinoza for offering wise feedback on the manuscript based on her pastoral experience, and Fr. Jeffrey Grob of the Archdiocese of Chicago, colleague, mentor, and friend. Any errors in this text are purely my own. Also, Id like to recognize my pastor, Fr. Fred Pesek, whose Christmas homily about being wrapped and swaddled influenced the imagery I used in this book.

Finally, I couldnt have written this book without the love, support, and sacrifice of my wise and patient wife, Debbie, and my amazing daughter, Siena. I treasure you both!

Every weapon fashioned against you shall fail; every tongue that brings you to trial you shall prove false. This is the lot of the servants of the LORD, their vindication from me. (Isaiah 54:17)

To Kristin Bird, Julianne Stanz, and Sr. Marie Kolbe Zamorathree amazing collaborators and sisters in Christ who have challenged me to be a better speaker, deacon, and disciple.

Contents

Introduction

You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)

I once heard a story that helped me to appreciate the dynamic between lies versus the truth. It went like this.

Twin brothersa man named Truth and a man named Liestood by a river out in the country. Lie said he could swim across the river faster than Truth and challenged him to a race to prove it. They had to take off all their clothes, Lie said, dive in, and swim to the other side and back. Truth agreed, but when Lie shouted On your mark, get set, go, Truth jumped in and Lie did not. With Truth out in the middle of the river, Lie put on Truths clothes and headed into town where he paraded around dressed as Truth. When Truth returned to shore, Lies clothes were there on the ground, but Truth refused to dress as Lie. Instead, he walked back to town naked. People stared and were offended when they saw him, even though he explained the situation and said that he was, in fact, Truth. But he made people uncomfortable and so they mocked and shunned him. They didnt believe he was really Truth. The people believed Lie because he looked good, he was dressed properly, and he was easier to take. From that day until this, people have come to believe a lie rather than believe a naked truth.

Lies have a particular ability to capture our attention. Whether someone has lied to us about a particular situation, lied about us to someone else, or whether we have, perhaps with good intentions, lied ourselves, weve all experienced the power of lies. Lies can influence how we see and react to others, interpret the world around us, and understand our own identity.

Thats why lies are the devils stock in trade. Even when the lie is ugly, we have a tendency to accept it more readily than the truthparticularly when it is aimed at our identity.

I should know. I was bound up and influenced by lies for over half my life. I knew that I was broken, that there was something about me that God couldnt love. In my head, I understood that God had created me and loved me in some sort of way. However, the lies wrapped around me were so strong that I couldnt live out of the truth of my identity as a beloved son of God.

Throughout my ministry in the Catholic world over the last twenty years, I have frequently encountered the same self-understanding in othersbaptized men and women who dont live in the freedom, peace, joy, and integrity of their identity as sons and daughters of God, but rather struggle with a very real and pervasive bondage. For too many of us, God seems like a distant, unapproachable figure, and we struggle over and over again with the same sins, our sense of guilt deepening into an unshakeable experience of shame. Perhaps we are sure that God is a loving Father, but we are not too sure what this Father thinks of us. Or perhaps we suspect that the Father is anything but lovingmajestic, omnipotent, all-seeing, all-judging, sure. But