The problem is, the devil is a great storyteller. His silver tongue can weave a tale that would absorb and enrapture even the godliest person. We know this is true because Eve was sinless when she encountered him on that fateful day when he told her the best story of all. She was not crippled by fleshly weaknesses towards temptation and sin like we are. She was perfect in spirit and perfect in flesh. She was whole within herself and whole with God. She was as God said she was, which was "very good." (Gen 1:31).
Perhaps we have all wondered why Eve would choose to do
something that God clearly and explicitly gave instructions not to do, not realizing that we, ourselves, do the very
same thing on a regular basis. But we
don't like to think about our own rebellion, so let's talk about Eve's. Why would she choose Satan's lie and rebel
against God? Scripture shows us that it
was because Satan captured her imagination, "..it
was a delight to the eyes, and ... was desirable to make one wise, she took
from its fruit and ate;" (Gen 3:6).
Satan spun a tale that appealed to the potential towards rebellion and
self-pleasure that lies within the heart of every human being because he is a
master at his craft.
Scripture says,
"For rebellion is as the sin of
witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." (1 Samuel
15:23). Scripture does not say, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.....unless the witchcraft has a
really great storyline." There
is a reason why you can walk into any bookstore and find that up to 80% of what
is offered to school-aged children to read is related to witchcraft, sorcery, the
occult, animism, pagan mythology, zombies, vampires and a myriad of other
topics that Christians are explicitly and clearly instructed to avoid and turn
away from. And the reason is, that the
devil has had thousands of years to observe and interact with us. He is a master at his craft of subtlety. Make note of the definition of "subtle",
which is, "making use of clever and indirect methods to achieve something."
Let that sink in for a moment.
Then understand this: most of the
time, people aren't even aware they are being deceived and manipulated by the
enemy of their souls. The devil desires
our rebellion against God any way he can achieve it. He doesn't care whether we do it knowingly or
in ignorance, purposefully or on accident, a little bit or a lot. He just wants us to operate in his image,
rather than God's. Rebellion over
obedience. Human reason over heavenly
faith. Some people may think,
"Well, it's just a story."
Yeah, but look what happened to Eve when she listened to the one she was
told.
There is a reason
God tells His children that will inherit eternal life to turn away from and
avoid the works of darkness:
--"..what fellowship has light with
darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has
a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the
temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God;" (2
Cor 6:15)--"You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons." (1 Cor 10:21)
--"For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness." (1 Thess 5:5)
The devil's method of operation hasn't changed much since the Garden. He appeals to our emotions and our reasoning and makes sin desirable, interesting and entertaining. He made Eve's rebellion seem reasonable and inconsequential. He told her a great story. However, doing anything that goes against God's instructions to us as to how to conduct ourselves and live our lives, is rebellion. And if the devil can't get us to do it out-right, then he will simply entertain us with it.
As God's holy
people, who have been bought with the precious blood of Christ and set apart as
a nation of God's own possession that has been called out of darkness and into
His marvelous light, let us live lives worthy of the calling we have received.
"But you are a
chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own
possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into
His marvelous light." (2 Peter 2:9)
"Therefore
I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the
calling with which you have been called.." (Eph 4:1)
"'How can
there be peace,' Jehu replied, 'as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of
your mother Jezebel abound?'" (2 Kings 9:22)
"When you
enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to
imitate the detestable things of those nations. There shall
not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through
the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who
interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium,
or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is
detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your
God will drive them out before you. You shall be blameless
before the LORD your God. For those nations, which you shall dispossess,
listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the
LORD your God has not allowed you to do so." (Deut 8:10-14)
"No,
but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to
demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons."
(1 Cor 10:20)
"Finally, brethren, whatever
is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever
is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if
anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (Phil 4:8)
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