Evil Communications Corrupt Good Manners: Self-Deception's Three Snares

Be not deceived—evil communications corrupt good manners. Of all species of deception, self-deception proves most detrimental; it is like having a traitor within the fortress who betrays his country to the enemy.

First, be not deceived by a corrupt heart. As the proverb states, "The heart is the man." The seed contains the future flower; the small acorn contains the majestic oak; the egg contains the poisonous viper. So also the heart contains the germ of the future glorified saint or doomed spirit (Matthew 15:19). Morally consumptive people approach their great change yet tell you they are improving in health, deceiving themselves to the last. They refuse the aid of the Great Physician until their moral nature falls into the second death.

Second, be not deceived by a polluted imagination. The imagination is a beautiful maiden whose voice enchants like the nightingale's song—yet she is not always chaste. When she ministers to the lusts and passions of men, her crown becomes tarnished. But at the bidding of Job, Isaiah, and Milton, she becomes "a woman clothed with the sun." The heart's influence over imagination is as regular and absolute as the moon's influence upon the tide.

Third, be not deceived by the habits of society. The phrase "good manners" means virtue—all that is noble and heroic. One may possess the beauty of Venus or the polish of Chesterfield and still be void of true virtue.