"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."-Jesus, from the Gospel of John 8:44
We live in a world that would rather believe in lies than believe in the truth. We do so because if we live the lie then we don't have to change who we are. Because if we have to change who we are then that means we have made mistakes and there is something wrong with us or we are doing the wrong thing or have the wrong ideas. And no one wants to admit that. We are satisfied living in darkness. We feel we know better than God. We feel gray areas are fine. This is why Jesus said some are of the devil. The world throws away righteousness and takes on evil masquerading as good. Paul says that satan masquerades as an angel of light. Many times the world calls good evil and evil good. They do not know the difference anymore. Listen to these lies that the accuser has given to us and that we believe:
He turns love into lust.
He turns a baby into a fetus.
He turns a bad day into depression.
He turns depression into suicide.
He turns pain into doubt.
He turns doubt into atheism.
He turns a bad habit into an addiction.
He turns a disagreement into hate.
He turns pornography into freedom of speech.
He turns a condition into an excuse.
He turns knowledge into rationalization.
He turns self-awareness into pride.
He turns humanitarianism into liberalism.
He turns your past into the present.
He turns discipline into abuse.
He turns fossils into evolutionary fact.
He turns civil rights into racism.
He turns community leaders into politicians.
He makes "being good" into "good enough".
He turns women into objects.
He turns children into punching bags.
He turns fathers into one-night stands.
He turns a marriage into a definition.
He turns tolerance into apathy.
He turns moral standards into a joke.
He turns a family into a village.
He turns faith into a religion.
He turns worship into an argument.
And worst of all he turns Christians into lazy, lukewarm, twice-a-year-pew-sitting hypocrites who listen to these lies.
Funny, though, because a couple of verses before the scripture above tells us how to get out of this mess. "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”- Jesus, from the Gospel of John 8:32. But unfortunately, no one wants to live in the truth.
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ReplyDeleteReally great list. I especially found it thought provoking in a way that causes us to see some things more clearly in our society... such as the one where "he turns a family into a village", so true. Both ideas (the "family" and the "village") are good, but if mixed and messed up together, they become not so good.
ReplyDeleteA family is not made up of the village, even though a village is made up of families.
There is a way that seems right to a man but only brings him death. ALl of these could be considered the right way or a "doesn't matter if I do it" way. But the end result is still a lie. I may add to this list as time goes by. I will make a comment here if I do. Thanks for your words.
ReplyDeleteHi Gozreht. Very throught provoking list. As Daniel said, there are some things here which are particularly more insideous than the others, precisely because they are ALMOST truth. Daniel gave one example - another is the faith/religion one.
ReplyDeleteThe Bible talks about good and true religion, so religion is not bad. Neither is faith. In fact, faith necessarily produces religion. What IS bad is when you mix them up - considering religion as your life or what brings you closer to God. Or considering faith as the only necessary outflow from a relationship with God.