12/10/11
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Have you ever had the thought that the whole world seems to be going crazy?! As you see what’s happening in the news these days, you shake your head. As you hear friends and family members talk about the things they’re experiencing, you raise your eyebrows. Sometimes even your own thoughts make you pause and ask if you’re any better than anyone else. Of course you quickly decide that you’re still okay, but that everyone else is getting weirder.
Have you ever thought that you know how to solve everyone’s problems, if only they would listen to you? You have a plan you’re sure would work; if they would just accept your advice! In fact, you’re so sure your idea is right, you have begun thinking of how to push people into following your way. After all, a little bit of force is okay since it’s for their own good. Right!? I’m sorry to tell you, but such a plan won’t really work.
God’s way of helping people doesn’t use force to change their minds when they’re wrong. He tells them what’s best; and even explains why, if they’re willing to hear it. But then He steps back and lets them choose what they want to do.
We see this principle illustrated when God let Lucifer and one-third of the angels turn against Him. We see it in letting Adam & Eve choose to go against His direction. We today are also allowed the same freedom of choice, even when what we do will have negative consequences.
So we shouldn’t try to force others; even when we know the right course to follow. We must be like God, and allow others to make their own choices; even when they choose differently than we wish for them to. Then, if they later need help getting out of the problem they’ve gotten into, we do what we can for them. But we can’t resort to force.
Consider with me the Garden of Eden. God told Adam & Eve that the fruit of one particular tree was forbidden to them; and He explained what the consequences would be if they ate from it. But apart from giving them a directive, He left it to them to choose to obey or not. God didn’t put a wall around the tree; He didn’t post a guard of mighty angels with flaming swords; He just gave a verbal rule. The only barrier was in the minds of Adam & Eve: the desire to obey their Father because they loved Him was to be prevention enough.
Curiosity about something forbidden is a subtle and insidious, yet very powerful, motivator. When God excluded Lucifer from certain things, this began to work on his mind. When a single tree was denied to Adam & Eve, this began to entice them. We too are not immune! If we know that something is forbidden to us, we had best stay away from it and push away even the desire to think about it. Don’t indulge thoughts of, “What if…?”
Eve didn’t at first go straight to the tree determined to disobey God. She just wanted to get a closer look; perhaps thinking it would be ok in order to better understand why it was forbidden. But if you look closely at the root of this reasoning, you find there the thought that the instruction might be wrong and you want to see if it really is as dangerous as was said. In other words, it’s questioning the one giving the command.
As soon as she accepted to doubt the wisdom of God’s instruction, Eve’s own defenses began to weaken. As she approached the Tree and entered its presence, she began to be enchanted. Then as she stood there gazing at the fruit, as if under a spell, she succumbed to its attraction. Ge 3:6, “When she looked at the fruit she saw it was pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom, so she took some and ate it.” By this point Lucifer’s job was almost finished.
Satan was present at the Tree this entire time, exerting whatever influence he could to further weaken her resistance; and with each decision she made, he gained more control over her. First the doubt, then the approach, then the gazing, finally the conversation. Although each step forward made it harder to turn back, it was not too late until she actually took the forbidden fruit and ate of it.
Gaining control of Eve gave Satan a big advantage over Adam. Husband and wife are “one”. So having Eve in his grasp put Satan well within the borders of Adam’s defenses. Satan then used not only his own influence but also Eve’s influence over Adam to press home the temptation.
Our Enemy is quite willing to use our loved ones to influence us to do what is wrong. He causes our love for others to blind us to our love and duty to God. He twists the truth and manipulates us with lies until we think disobeying God is the right thing to do.
There are many Bible verses that speak of this. Three of them are:
Rv 13:14, “He deceiveth them that dwell on earth by the means of those miracles which he has power to do.”
Mt 24:11, 24, “Many false prophets shall rise and deceive many. … There shall arise false christs and false prophets, and they shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
2Th 2:8, 11, “Then shall the Wicked be revealed. … For this cause God shall send them a strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they might be damned who believed not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness.”
It is one of the great deceptions of this age that is leading many many people to hold a terrible thought — “I alone am able to save the others!” Very few people voice this aloud; but if they did, we’d see this thought is widespread. Many people are thinking, “I need to be the hero! I need to be the one to save them!” “Only I know what to do!” Unfortunately, this is a lie of the Enemy. But it’s hard to recognize it as such because it’s clothed in seemingly unselfish motives.
This delusion has become as powerful as it is because everyone would like to be a hero. Further, everyone would like to have a noble justification for acting on their fantasies. No one is immune! For the Enemy gives it a spiritual appearance and makes it seem a righteous goal. But despite its appearance you must reject it. Reject it totally! And refuse to consider it any longer. Neither compulsion nor misguided self-sacrifice are God’s way for us.
God desires for us to help others; but the means He chooses for us to use are: praying, blessing, rebuking, and healing. We are not called on to die for others — Jesus did that already! We are called on to live! To live the victorious life that He has opened to us. To show others how to live, and how to escape the destructive lies of the Enemy.
Satan desires only to kill and destroy. He may try to strike someone with a disease or an accident; he may try to incite someone to take another’s life; or he may try to get us to take our own life. This last may be through self-destructive acts prompted by depression or through being misinformed. Or, as mentioned above, by convincing us that sacrificing our own life will help others. Recognize these ideas as lies! God does not call on us to kill ourselves; especially not to re-do what Jesus has already done. He 6:10, “Jesus died once for all.”
Only by renouncing a lie can you finally get to where you are able to see it in a true light. Any thought that has you single-handedly saving the world, or saving the country, or even just saving your loved ones, is a deception. Any thought that casts you in the role of a “savior” is a trick of the Enemy. It is an appeal to your deepest desires. But the end result will not be what you’re wanting! Reject this very subtle deception, and pray that God will show you the truth of it.
Satan is working hard and using subtle tricks to tempt us. So we must know our Enemy and constantly be on guard and work against him. Our own nature and weaknesses also work against us. So we must put to death our old nature, deny our impulses, and keep our thoughts under control. It is hard to stay constantly in the Way of Truth, especially in these Last Days. So we must keep in close relationship with our God and Father. And we must help each other — studying together, praying together, and keeping each other in the Light and in the Kingdom. By staying with our God and with each other we can overcome all temptation and be victorious!
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