Lie: I can become a god.
Truth: I can become a king under God.
This is the oldest lie, the original lie and therefore the most fundamental, most integrative and silently influential of all deceptions. What may sound ludicrous and therefore harmless – who in their right mind would think they can become a god?! – turns out to be the most insidious because it flies so far under the radar. In order to see just how dangerous this lie is, we must start at the beginning . . .
Lie: No matter what I do, nothing changes.
Truth: Actions (and in-actions) have consequences, but eventually everything changes.
In one sense of course, Solomon was right — there is nothing new under the sun. The generations, the cycles of the sun, the winds, the waters, they all continue their cyclical courses; but in another sense, everything is constantly being renewed. Yes, each generation has its births and deaths, its marriages and children, its coming and going. Yet each generation, each person is uniquely and constantly changing – one of life’s most perplexing ironies. But we feel Solomon’s weariness . . .
Lie: Aging is bad and is to be avoided.
Truth: Although aging is the natural process of death, Christians have no need to fear it.
Aging is nothing to relish. It’s true, no one ever wants to grow old and die, but growing old is now regarded much differently than it once was. Before the advent of Botox®, Rogaine®, ‘low-T’ and the plethora of geriatric pharmaceutical drugs, growing old was an inevitable and accepted part of life. But no more. Aging and its symptoms are dreaded and avoided if at all possible.
Lie: I can never do enough.
Truth: Doing God’s will is enough.
Today, most of us live in a sea of unfinished projects, good intentions and expectations of others. We’re aware, at least vaguely, of hundreds of untapped opportunities and unmet needs. It appears that, if only our abilities and the world’s needs could be matched, all would be well. We know we have limits. The problem is, we have trouble discerning how far those limits can go. Consequently, many people live in a perpetual state of low-level guilt – false guilt that is – because they cannot . . .
Lie: I am my brain.
Truth: I fluently exercise my brain.
The three-pound organ that crowns our heads and sits behind our faces, is a living wonder. Today, it’s the object of an extraordinary amount of scientific research that is probing to discover how this small, whitish, cheese-like substance could create the grand mystery of consciousness.
And while biologists try to understand its workings, computer scientists try to reverse-engineer . . .
Lie: Silence is boring.
Truth: Without silence, we cannot listen, think or pray.
It used to be that silence was golden but it’s now been morphed into radioactive plutonium. We avoid silence like the plague (I know, too many metaphors). Ever since Sony invented the transistor radio in 1960, and therefore the portability of personal sound, the perceived value of silence has dramatically diminished. The phonograph, radio, then television increased the presence of manufactured sound and made it nearly omnipresent. But we still experienced sound aloud — the sound was external to our ears. Then the Sony Walkman, the iPod and finally the smartphone put sound under our personal control and internalized it. Over time, the price of internal sound declined and improved until we now have our own inner concert arena.
In part 1, we learned how idolatry works and what makes it so insidious. In this part we’ll look at what idols actually look like and ask the question, what are the idols that tempt us today? What form do they take and how do we actually worship them? Let’s take some common examples; this list is by no means exhaustive.
Your house – Images of ideal homes are everywhere . . .
Lie: Idolatry is rare.
Truth: Idolatry is common.
When the God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, he meant for each to serve as a foundation stone in the building of his people. No word was wasted. It was a revelation beyond anything men could have dreamed up and it began – at least to our ears – very strangely: “You shall have no other gods before me.” and then right on it heals, the second command: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image.” This second commandment conjures up images (!) of ancient robed figures bowing before huge stone statues. But does this still go on? Or is it an anachronism? Did God overemphasize the importance of idolatry? or is it a timeless and fundamental temptation?
Lie: The goal in life is to be a good Christian.
Truth: The goal in life is to glorify God.
This is an especially pernicious lie, mainly because it sounds so holy and good. What could possibly be wrong with wanting to be a good Christian? Are we to be a bad Christian? No, actually we are to be ‘good Christians,’ but the problem lies with the first part of the statement: ‘the goal in life is . . .’ This sets up the orientation of our entire life. So rephrasing the lie then: the orientation of our life is to focus on becoming a good Christian. That should give you a clue to its fatal error.
The main problem with this lie is that . . .
Lie: I’m in control of my life.
Truth: God is in control of your life.
You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality. — Ayn Rand
In the fantasy film Bruce Almighty, Bruce, a TV reporter whose ambition is to make anchor, takes out his aggression against God when he’s passed over for the job as news anchor. Foolishly he decides to contend with the Almighty thinking . . .
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