Spiritual Warfare: Satan's Schemes #5 (innocence, naivete)
Okay, let's keep chugging along here on the spiritual warfare study. I had no idea I'd write this much about the times we're vulnerable to Satan's attacks, but next up is...
Innocence, naivete
Deception (twisting the truth, God's character, or God's Word) is one of Satan's first (and best) tricks. He used it on Eve in the Garden of Eden. God had forbidden Adam and Eve from eating from one tree out of a whole garden of trees. All the rest were allowed. But Satan cleverly asked Eve "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1)
Satan knew God restricted only one tree, but he made it seem like God restricted more: "What!?! God said you can't eat from any tree? How unfair!"
Satan wanted Eve to see God as restrictive and unfair, as if He holds out on us, squashes our enjoyment of things. He wanted her to feel unfulfilled with what God had given her, like there was something more she needed but wasn't getting. (How many times do we hear in movies or TV shows "I have needs that must be met"? Needs! Not wants. Not desires. But needs that must be met. And it's almost always an excuse for sexual sin.) This would not only draw Eve's attention to the forbidden thing, but it would make her want it more, want to see what she's missing out on. And since God's rule now seemed "unfair," rebelling seemed more acceptable, more "deserved."
"Rules are meant to be broken," right?
"Don't let anything stand in your way." "Decide what you want and go out and get it." "You are the master of your life." "Trust yourself." "Follow your heart and you can't go wrong." "You deserve everything you want." "Don't settle for less."
These are messages we are bombarded with all the time these days. And they're basically "you are your own god," in one form or another. (Personally, I think the fairy tale idea of "just follow your heart and you can't go wrong" is one of Satan's most insidious, destructive schemes out there, especially since it's pushed on children all the time in all the kids' shows and movies. But, oh, the destruction that "following your heart" - that "living in the moment" - leaves in its wake!)
And Satan's subtle deception - subtle twists to God's words and character - worked. At first, Eve rightly replied, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden...", but then she wrongly added, "and you must not touch it."
But God didn't say that. But since Satan planted the thought that God was restrictive, Eve began to see Him that way. And she made up restrictions that God didn't, in order to prove it: "And He won't even let us touch the fruit, can you believe that!?!"
[Side note: I have a big problem with legalistic churches that set rules where God doesn't - because that's human leaders putting themselves in God's place and putting restrictions on us that God doesn't. And this may eventually cause good people to feel so restricted that they end up rebelling against (or walking away from) God and His rules just to get away from man's control and rules.
And it forces us to be accountable to and to obey other people for the wrong reasons, instead of being accountable to and obeying God for the right reasons. Man-made religious hierarchies and rules complicate our simple faith and God's simple truths and are a recipe for disaster, turning more people away from God than to Him. (This was one of the problems Jesus had with the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. Now read Matthew 23 to see how Jesus felt about them.)
Oh, and I'd probably add in here the people back in the day who - to show their devotion to God and share Jesus's pain - chose to do self-harming or self-restrictive things like whip themselves, starve themselves, cut themselves, let bugs/animals nibble on them, etc. - crazy, risky, unnecessary things that may seem (to some people) so "holy and humble and self-sacrificial" but that are things God never required of us but that the people did to themselves in their wayward attempt to honor Him.
Of course, I can't make a blanket statement about all people who do these kinds of things... but, personally, I think God would rather have us show our devotion to Him by simply living out what He tells us to do in the Bible (love Him, love others, be honest, be kind, seek justice, share the gospel, etc.) instead of doing things like whipping ourselves.
I know many religious people revere self-harming people like these, maybe even calling them "saints," but I kinda think there's something very wrong here, that Satan has tricked good, well-intentioned, naive people into thinking that destroying themselves is good, humble, and godly when it's really not.
I mean, didn't Jesus come to free us, to heal us, to give us abundant life? And yet here are people who say they love Jesus punishing themselves, hurting themselves, choosing a life of pain and death.
But Jesus didn't die for us so that we could put ourselves back in a prison of our own making. And isn't doing so kinda insulting to Him, to the sacrifice He made to free us?
Okay, tiny rant over. Sorry, but that's been swirling around my mind since I read a book a few years ago revering some "saint" who starved herself or beat herself (to death, I think) or something like that. I think those people should be pitied, not revered. I think they're cautionary tales, not inspirations for building chapels in their name. Okay, I'm done now.
It's just so not what the Christian life is supposed to be like or how God calls us to live and represent Him and draw people to Him.
(And maybe your "prison" isn't a physical one like that, but maybe it's a mental one, an emotional one, a spiritual one. Maybe it's a prison of anxiety or depression or stress or unfulfillment or jealousy or bitterness or lust or anger or whatever. What "prison" is Jesus trying to free you from, but you just keep putting yourself right back in it? Pray and ask God for His wisdom and help.)
Okay now, moving on...]
Satan used deception (small, barely-noticeable tweaks to what God said) to get into Eve's head, to change her view of God from a caring God who generously provides all we need and who lovingly sets up protective boundaries for our good... to a strict, unreasonable God who says "no" all the time and who withholds potentially enjoyable or beneficial things from us, just because.
And Satan caused Eve to change her view of herself from a child of God who's under God's authority... to someone who can put herself first and decide for herself what's right and wrong and what makes her happiest.
And as a result, she went from being fulfilled with all the many blessings God gave her... to desiring and pursuing the one thing He wouldn't give her. The one thing He withheld from her for her own good. But because of the lies Satan whispered, she no longer trusted God to be a good, loving, generous, protective God who cares for our needs and wants the best for us.
And mankind has paid a heavy price for it ever since.
It's human nature
And don't kid yourself, any one of us would've eventually done the same thing she did, given enough time in the garden of Eden. It's human nature to want what we can't have, to focus on what's just out of reach, to be bored with the same old things and want to try something new, to be intrigued by what someone tells us we can't or shouldn't do.
(The other day I pulled a scalding hot pan right out of the oven, set it on the stovetop, and warned my two teenage sons not to touch it because it was really hot. And guess what both of them immediately did, one right after the other, right in front of me? That's right, they both walked in, touched the pan, and yelped "Ouch, that's hot." I tell ya, it's human nature. And do you think they would've touched it if I hadn't told them not to?)
And I'm not just picking on Eve here. Adam was right next to her, watching it all happen, not saying a word, not reminding her of what God said, not suggesting that they double-check with God, not being the leader he was supposed to be. He was a willing, enabling participant in their fall.
God clearly told them what He expected from them. (Actually, in Genesis 2, we see that God told Adam about the forbidden tree, and so Adam was responsible to tell Eve, which he apparently did because Eve knew the restriction too.) But they chose not to listen. They chose to stand by each other in sin and rebellion, to crash and burn together instead of holding each other up to God's standards.
The thing is, God told them the rules. And when He clearly, fairly tells us the rules, He leaves it up to us to remember them and obey them. He doesn't necessarily repeat them, and He won't necessarily step in to stop us from ignoring or breaking them. Once He tells us, then it's up to us to do it or not.
It was up to Adam and Eve to remember what God said, to compare what the serpent said to what God said, to double-check with God if they weren't sure, and then to choose to do it God's way instead of any other way, regardless of their desires or of the other voices telling them something different and encouraging them to disobey.
[It's quite possible that Satan didn't have to push Eve too hard but that he was simply watching and waiting to see when Eve was "ripe" for tempting, when she was already showing signs of being willing to try something new, getting bored with what she had.
Even when it came to tempting Jesus in the desert, "when the devil had finished all this tempting, he left [Jesus] until an opportune time" (Luke 4:13). Until an opportune time! That should sober us, scare us. Satan slinked to the side but kept his eyes open - watching, calculating, waiting for an opportune time. An open door. A vulnerable moment.
And do we really think he does any less with us? Watch carefully how you live and what you become interested in, which thoughts you entertain, what you say to yourself or to others, what you gaze at too long, when you give something a second glance, what temptations you dabble in, which boundaries you push, which lines you tiptoe to the edge of or thrust a toe over, and the moments when you feel weak and vulnerable. Satan sees it too, and he'll use it against you, taking any door you leave open a crack as an open invitation.]
It was up to Adam and Eve to remember what God said, and to remind each other. But they chose not to... and then they tried to blame others and God for the mess they got into, for their sin.
Likewise, it's up to us to search God's Word and to pray for direction when it comes to the decisions we face and the things others tell us about God and Truth. God told us in His Word what He expects from us and what the Truth is. And the Holy Spirit is more than willing to give us the wisdom to understand God's Word and the strength to live it out, to make the wisest decisions possible. (And the best part is, He does it without shaming us for messing up in the first place: James 1:5: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.")
It's up to us to do it - to search the Word, pray, compare everything to Scripture, and obey.
But how many times do we choose not to? How many times do we choose to do things in our own "wisdom" or to follow our own desires or to listen to other voices or to conveniently "forget" what God said and fail to check His Word or pray... and then we blame other people or God for the mess we're in?
When you dig your own hole, don't be surprised when you fall into it.
Where our hope is
But, and here's a hopeful note to end it on, always remember that God knows we're human, that we're gonna mess up, that we can't do it on our own, that we'll lose our way sometimes, that we'll fail and fall. And that's why God is a God of second chances (and third and fourth, etc.) A God of new plan B's (and C's and D's, etc.)
When you mess up and lose your way, seek Him and His help and His Word again. Start obeying again, the very first things He tells you to do. Go back, in your mind, with prayer, to the last thing you disobeyed Him about, to the point when you turned away from Him and started taking steps in the other direction... and then confess it as sin, ask forgiveness, and ask Him what He wants you to do about it now, how you can make amends. Start meeting Him again in His Word and in prayer so that you get to know His commands and get to know Him as He really is: His loving, forgiving, merciful, gracious, trustworthy, just, holy character.
(And if you are a Calvinist, get away from Calvinism. It is toxic, a poison that will slowly suffocate your spirit because it destroys God's Word and His good, loving, trustworthy character - and faith can't survive when that happens. See my anti-Calvinist blog for more on this.)
This will help you get back on the new "right path" with Him and in life.
When, like the prodigal son, you've wandered far from Him and are hurting and lost and broken, remember that all you have to do is turn back to Him and start walking in His direction again... and He'll come running to meet you where you're at. He won't shame you for what you've done; He'll throw a party for you just because He's so glad you came back.
And no matter what messes you've made, remember that God can turn it all into something good - if you let Him, if you trust Him.
(Yes, I know, there's "too many" Bible verses coming up, but this is important. And if it's not important to you now, it may be someday, maybe when it's too late. Read them. Read them out loud. Write them. Cherish them. This is part of spiritual warfare. This is how we battle the lies of the enemy, reminding him and ourselves of what God's truth is.)
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:28)
"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains." (Ps. 107:13-14)
"Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord' - and you forgave the guilt of my sin." (Ps. 32:5)
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Ps. 103:11-12)
“I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him, into His ears…. He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters…. The Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me … To the faithful, You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless, to the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd. You save the humble and bring low those whose eyes are haughty. You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle… You give me Your shield of victory, and Your right hand sustains me…” (Select verses from Psalm 18)
“I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” (Ps. 40:1-3)
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.' Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you make the Most High your dwelling - even the Lord, who is my refuge - then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up with their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lions and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 'Because he loves Me,' says the Lord, 'I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him My salvation.'" (Psalm 91, an excellent one to memorize! If I can do it, so can you. Trust me, you won't be sorry you did!)
“I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy. Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: ‘O Lord, save me!’ The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, He saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” (Ps. 116:1-9)
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Ps. 139:23-24)
"The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth." (Ps. 145:18, don't miss the "in truth" part.)
“For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for He guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones.” (Prov. 2:6-8)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5-6, I might feel like I fail myself all the time, but I have to remember that God will never fail me.)
"He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young... He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak… Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint.” (Isa. 40:11,29,31)
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand… For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.’” (Isa. 41:10,13)
"Submit yourself, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you." (James 4:7-8)
“For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13-14)
"Jesus said, 'The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; but I have come that [you] may have life, and have it to the full.'" (John 10:10)
"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:38-39)
