As I was browsing the CNN headlines this morning, I was overcome with sadness. Reading about natural disasters and monsters masquerading as humans reminded me--yet again--how cruel the world really is.
Another reason for my sadness was the knowledge that atheists and agnostics often use such reports to question the existence of God. If He were truly a loving God, they argue, He wouldn’t allow such tragedies to occur. What kind of God permits these atrocities?
What they don’t understand, however, is that humans allowed and permitted these horrors to occur--not God. God created a beautiful, perfect existence for us. He gave us shelter in the Garden of Eden, an endless supply of delicious food and a life without pain or hardship. And He asked only one thing in return for our eternal happiness: our obedience. And truly, obeying Him could not have been much of a hardship, for He only prohibited us from eating the fruit of one tree. He even stressed that we could “feely eat the fruit of any [other] tree in the garden.” The Bible doesn’t say how many other trees existed in the Garden, but I imagine they would have numbered in the hundreds--if not thousands.
But we failed to heed that one, tiny command. We chose to disobey our Father and place our trust in something much darker. Sadly, that darkness still exists today and still reigns over this Earth. And Satan still uses the same tactics he used to deceive Eve.
Satan's tactics
1) Satan distorted God’s Words. When he first confronted Eve, Satan asked, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the Garden?”
2) Satan lied to make Eve doubt God’s Word. Although the Lord warned Adam that they would “surely die” if they ate the fruit, Satan told her, “You won’t die!”
3) Satan appealed to Eve’s pride and ego and tricked her into believing there were benefits to eating the fruit. “Your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil,” he told her.
Distortions
Satan still uses these tactics today. He still finds ways to distort God’s Word…sometimes to make them appear harsher than they are, and sometimes to water them down or change their meaning. New Age thinkers often quote the Bible to support their pantheistic views, for example. They distort Jesus’ words--"My Father and I are one" (John 10:30)--to indicate that we are all one with God. There could be nothing farther from the truth, for our sin further separated us from God--it certainly didn't make us one with Him! And distorting that verse also denies the divinity of Jesus, the very basis of the Christian faith.
Lies
Satan still lies to us, as well. Sometimes he lies to us by convincing us that we’re too evil to ever get into heaven. Of course we can, if we only look to our Savior, Jesus. God gave us that promise. He gave His own life so that we could enter heaven, regardless of how “bad” we are.
But Satan doesn't only deceive us by making us doubt God's love; sometimes he makes us believe that God wants us to have those things which He clearly opposes! Too often I hear televangelists tell people that God wants us to be wealthy. They say God wants to bless us with big houses, fancy cars and millions of dollars. Not according to Scripture, He doesn’t: "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24) So it's clear that Satan deceives even the most devout.
Appeals to our sinful natures
He also deceives us by making sinful things seem attractive. Who wouldn’t want riches, beauty or popularity, for example? It all seems so wonderful, but those are the exact things that God warns us against, for they turn our focus from the Lord. And Jesus warns us that we will be persecuted--not popular--for our faith. But the Lord asuures us: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:10) So even though we might desire that which goes against God's Word, we must always remember that "sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. You must subdue it and be its master." (Genesis 4:7)
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