“But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:4–6, ESV)
The above scripture contains a conversation between the devil disguised as a serpent and Eve. The devil/serpent knew God had warned Adam and Eve not to eat of a particular tree in the Garden of Eden. The serpent wanted Adam and Eve to sin, to reject God’s command, and go against God. So, the serpent “cunningly” convinced Eve that if she took fruit from that tree, she would “not surely die” AND she would “be like God” (Genesis 3:4,5). In Christian theological circles, this exchange from Genesis is known as the Great Temptation. It was the devil’s attempt to manipulate humans against God. The devil, disguised as a serpent, used logic with half-truths and subtle lies to turn Eve against God. It worked. When faced with following God’s command or heeding well-crafted temptations, Eve was convinced to sin.
You might look at Eve’s temptation and be screaming at the poor woman not to fall for the lies and half-truths. You might read that scripture and think to yourself, “How could she not see through the lies? They are so obvious!” Don’t be too harsh on Eve. She is all too human! Every day, people make the same mistake as Eve! Faced with obeying God’s truth or following well-crafted lies, people fall for the lies all too easily!
While enduring weeks of home renovation, a wife strolled over to watch her husband replace a light switch. With her standing by, he launched into a mini lecture on the dangers of touching live wires. As he finished, his wife rolled her eyes, feeling as if her intelligence had been insulted. Then, she finished sweeping up the mess caused by their work that day.
Looking around the room, now swept and clean, the wife noticed some debris below the wires her husband had just worked on. She reached out her hand to brush away that mess under the wires. As she did so, a jolt shot up her arm, and she recoiled in surprise and shock. Her husband shook his head, wondering why she hadn’t taken him at his word. The wife only said, “Don’t say one word! I don’t want to hear it!”.
Humans have this bad tendency to question God. Some even go out of their way to question reality, challenge God’s truth, and fall for the lies. Some, like the wife who was shocked with electricity, refuse to listen intently. They learn lessons the hard way. They get offended when someone offers instruction or expects obedience. Some are rebels. They challenge every truth. They are apt to believe lies until those lies are proven false. It’s rather prideful but all too common. Then, we have those who are tempted by white lies, false truths, and false reasoning. They think they are smart enough to separate out for themselves the truth from the lies. But without a clear understanding God’s truth, some lies will be cleverly worded enough to capture their imagination. Then, it will be all too easy to believe the lies over God’s truth.
In an interview this week, a video was shown of a conversation between a woman reporter and a young couple. The reporter asked the couple if they believe there is a genetic difference between black women and a white women. When the couple said, “Of course!”, the reporter went into a discussion of how there are no genetic differences between black and white women. The couple was dumbfounded at such an anti-scientific belief in reality. So was I! The reporter obviously was clueless about basic genetics, basic biology, and scientific principles.
The reporter went on to tell the couple how all their ideas about genetic and biology are all wrong and based on things like patriarchy, racism, fake news, etc. The woman reporter had no clue that she was the one spouting lies, that she had fallen for the falsehoods told by her university professors and left-wing media. In conversations after the video was published, the woman reporter continued to deny all the many professionals in the fields of biology, genetics, and various scientific fields who tried to correct the lies that she had been taught at her university. Even when shown the truth, she refused to believe it. She could not be dissuaded from adhering to the false truths she had been taught by ideologues posing as her university professors.
As in the days of Eve, people are susceptible to lies and half-truths. They succumb to temptations. The more cunning the arguments, the easier it is for people to fall for the false narratives of shady people. Since the beginning of time, people have been taught things that were untrue. They believed lies, even when proven false. They held tightly to beliefs that were told by unscrupulous people or based on false assumptions.
Chances are… right now you believe some things that are untrue. Without a doubt, you have been taught things (even by well-meaning people!) that are false. Not only can individuals trust in non-truths, but whole societies can also hold beliefs that run contrary to reality. For centuries, people believed the earth was flat. Even today, some people believe that. However, just looking through a telescope at the moons of Jupiter traveling around that large planet should dispel that myth. But it doesn’t. People believe what they want to believe.
Why is it that people would rather believe the devil’s lies than God’s truth?
Today’s scripture is a reminder that you will be tempted to believe falsehoods and lies. Those lies will not only damage your view of reality but may drive a wedge between you and God! God’s truths are timeless. They are meant to preserve life and protect justice. Faithfulness involves learning God’s wisdom and preserving it, obeying it, and teaching it. Don’t be swayed by cunning voices who have ulterior motives. Don’t let the serpent’s temptations lure you away from God’s presence. Endeavor every day to trust fully in God’s timeless wisdom.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Oh Lord my God! Help me to be humble enough to listen to Your voice. Let me not be so prideful as to shun Your commands, reject Your word, and misinterpret Your actions.
In Jesus Christ, I know You to be faithful and true. Your Word is timeless. Your ways are honorable. Your actions have always been to preserve life and truth and justice. Sadly, human beings are as quick to believe lies as they are to doubt Your truths!
Forgive me for the times I did not trust You! Forgive me for those weak moments when I did not obey Your will. I, too, have not been truthful when I needed to be. I did not stand up for what was right when peer pressure pushed lies.
I love You, dear Lord. Remind me always to trust in Your Word. May I obey Your voice and heed Your commandments. Let me not be manipulated by clever arguments that go against Your will. Keep my mind focused on Your wisdom!
In Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
You might look at Eve’s temptation and be screaming at the poor woman not to fall for the lies and half-truths. You might read that scripture and think to yourself, “How could she not see through the lies? They are so obvious!” Don’t be too harsh on Eve. She is all too human! Every day, people make the same mistake as Eve! Faced with obeying God’s truth or following well-crafted lies, people fall for the lies all too easily!
While enduring weeks of home renovation, a wife strolled over to watch her husband replace a light switch. With her standing by, he launched into a mini lecture on the dangers of touching live wires. As he finished, his wife rolled her eyes, feeling as if her intelligence had been insulted. Then, she finished sweeping up the mess caused by their work that day.
Looking around the room, now swept and clean, the wife noticed some debris below the wires her husband had just worked on. She reached out her hand to brush away that mess under the wires. As she did so, a jolt shot up her arm, and she recoiled in surprise and shock. Her husband shook his head, wondering why she hadn’t taken him at his word. The wife only said, “Don’t say one word! I don’t want to hear it!”.
Humans have this bad tendency to question God. Some even go out of their way to question reality, challenge God’s truth, and fall for the lies. Some, like the wife who was shocked with electricity, refuse to listen intently. They learn lessons the hard way. They get offended when someone offers instruction or expects obedience. Some are rebels. They challenge every truth. They are apt to believe lies until those lies are proven false. It’s rather prideful but all too common. Then, we have those who are tempted by white lies, false truths, and false reasoning. They think they are smart enough to separate out for themselves the truth from the lies. But without a clear understanding God’s truth, some lies will be cleverly worded enough to capture their imagination. Then, it will be all too easy to believe the lies over God’s truth.
In an interview this week, a video was shown of a conversation between a woman reporter and a young couple. The reporter asked the couple if they believe there is a genetic difference between black women and a white women. When the couple said, “Of course!”, the reporter went into a discussion of how there are no genetic differences between black and white women. The couple was dumbfounded at such an anti-scientific belief in reality. So was I! The reporter obviously was clueless about basic genetics, basic biology, and scientific principles.
The reporter went on to tell the couple how all their ideas about genetic and biology are all wrong and based on things like patriarchy, racism, fake news, etc. The woman reporter had no clue that she was the one spouting lies, that she had fallen for the falsehoods told by her university professors and left-wing media. In conversations after the video was published, the woman reporter continued to deny all the many professionals in the fields of biology, genetics, and various scientific fields who tried to correct the lies that she had been taught at her university. Even when shown the truth, she refused to believe it. She could not be dissuaded from adhering to the false truths she had been taught by ideologues posing as her university professors.
As in the days of Eve, people are susceptible to lies and half-truths. They succumb to temptations. The more cunning the arguments, the easier it is for people to fall for the false narratives of shady people. Since the beginning of time, people have been taught things that were untrue. They believed lies, even when proven false. They held tightly to beliefs that were told by unscrupulous people or based on false assumptions.
Chances are… right now you believe some things that are untrue. Without a doubt, you have been taught things (even by well-meaning people!) that are false. Not only can individuals trust in non-truths, but whole societies can also hold beliefs that run contrary to reality. For centuries, people believed the earth was flat. Even today, some people believe that. However, just looking through a telescope at the moons of Jupiter traveling around that large planet should dispel that myth. But it doesn’t. People believe what they want to believe.
Why is it that people would rather believe the devil’s lies than God’s truth?
Today’s scripture is a reminder that you will be tempted to believe falsehoods and lies. Those lies will not only damage your view of reality but may drive a wedge between you and God! God’s truths are timeless. They are meant to preserve life and protect justice. Faithfulness involves learning God’s wisdom and preserving it, obeying it, and teaching it. Don’t be swayed by cunning voices who have ulterior motives. Don’t let the serpent’s temptations lure you away from God’s presence. Endeavor every day to trust fully in God’s timeless wisdom.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Oh Lord my God! Help me to be humble enough to listen to Your voice. Let me not be so prideful as to shun Your commands, reject Your word, and misinterpret Your actions.
In Jesus Christ, I know You to be faithful and true. Your Word is timeless. Your ways are honorable. Your actions have always been to preserve life and truth and justice. Sadly, human beings are as quick to believe lies as they are to doubt Your truths!
Forgive me for the times I did not trust You! Forgive me for those weak moments when I did not obey Your will. I, too, have not been truthful when I needed to be. I did not stand up for what was right when peer pressure pushed lies.
I love You, dear Lord. Remind me always to trust in Your Word. May I obey Your voice and heed Your commandments. Let me not be manipulated by clever arguments that go against Your will. Keep my mind focused on Your wisdom!
In Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.