Eliezer didn't really miss anything. What you're asking boils down to, "If I value happiness more than truth, should I delude myself into holding a false belief that has no significant consequence except making me happy?"

The obvious answer to that question is, "Yes, unless you can change yourself so that your happiness does not require belief in something that doesn't exist".

The second option is something that Eliezer addressed in Joy in the Merely Real. He didn't address the first option, self-deception, because this website is about truth-seeking, and anyway, most people who want to deceive themselves don't need help to do it.