1 Kings 22:22 · World English Bible
Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ He said, ‘I will go out and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ He said, ‘You will entice him, and will also prevail. Go out and do so.’
A man who has already decided what he wants to hear will find four hundred voices willing to say it. The deception does not force itself on the king.
From the Clinical Psychology reading below.
The same verse, read by one tradition.
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
A man who has already decided what he wants to hear will find four hundred voices willing to say it. The deception does not force itself on the king. He welcomes it. Flattery that promises victory goes down easier than counsel that warns of defeat, so he surrounds himself with agreement and calls the echo prophecy.
Each of us assembles a chorus of the opinions that soothe us and quietly exiles the one dissenter who might have saved us. The lie wins by consent, not by cleverness. Truth usually arrives as the voice you were most tempted to silence.
Clinical Psychology lens
Whose voice have you been quietly tuning out, and what might it cost you to keep doing that?
To know and to know that you do not know is strength. Taking your certainty for knowledge is the sickness, and clinging to being right is the fastest way to stop seeing.
It is impossible to learn anything you already believe you know. Epictetus told students that the first step in education is noticing where you are sure and have no grounds for it.
Who is wise? The one who learns from everyone, including the person whose words sting. The sages built disagreement into their study on purpose, because a room that only agrees produces nothing true.
Free · No account needed
Lensightful opens every verse of the Bible through the traditions you choose. Save readings, ask a follow-up question, and get one verse a day.
Get Lensightful on the App Store
Clinical Psychology