Troublesome Topic: SATAN USES OUR FALLENNESS AGAINST US
When Adam and Eve sinned, their spiritual condition changed; they found themselves separated from God and needing to be reconciled to a healthy relationship with Him. This meant that from then on acting sinfully was their natural tendency, and consequently, ours too. This is what I am referring to by the word “fallenness.”
Because Satan is a liar, and most of what he says is false, we should refuse to believe him when he tempts us to do things, even if he makes them sound wonderful. He makes things seem so positive, but he leaves out the negative consequences. He knows our fallen sinful tendencies and he plays on them to make us want to do something, even if we know it is wrong.
Lies about Sexual Gratification
Satan wants us to think that seeking sexual gratification outside of God’s plan brings true satisfaction and joy. The truth is that it won’t, but Satan tells us that it will.
Unfortunately, there are many people going down a road that leads to frustration rather than satisfaction. There is some sexual pleasure along that road, but there is never true happiness.
When we seek gratification outside God’s established norms it will only provide temporary and partial satisfaction. Just like masturbation or porn are not fully satisfying, sexual relations without the proper relationship will not satisfy. Satan tempts us by playing on our fallen sinful nature, but he purposefully ignores the relational, emotional, and spiritual aspects of sex.
Satan knows that the more we respond to a stimuli the more deeply ingrained that response becomes.
Satan also knows that the Law of Diminishing Returns produces the effect that the same level of activity produces less stimuli and excitement each time, so one has to get more extreme to get the same sense of stimulation as previously. This leads to sexual slavery. Many, many men are enslaved to pornography because they are seeking something and never finding it, yet they can’t stop seeking it. Then pornography leads to affairs and prostitution in an attempt to satisfy that elusive need. But that does not satisfy either because the only thing that truly satisfies our sexual desires is having sex in the context that our designer and maker intended—marriage. In a marriage the returns are not lessened; the law of diminishing returns does to not apply. However, the deal is that the relationship is growing deeper, and sex is ultimately a relational act, not just a physical act. So as the relationship gets deeper, the law of diminishing returns is mitigated against by the relational factors not the physical factors. If the physical aspects are the only ones that really exist (such as with prostitution), sex is robbed of its power, its beauty, its joy and is purity.
The Bible has much to say about sexuality, as a quick search will reveal.
Lies about Material Things
Life is hard. It seems like there is never enough money to pay all the bills and do what we need to do, much less what we want to do. Many households find both Dad and Mom working because they can’t make it if only one works. For this reason, and due to basic human nature, many people turn to the lottery in hopes of solving all their financial woes in one lucky instant.
But following the lives of people who have won the lottery reveals that they only bring more worry into their lives. The big money takes away certain problems and brings others. The problem with having lots of material things is that those things require care, maintenance, a place to store them and ways to keep them safe. We live in a culture that teaches us to never say the word “enough.”
Since I grew up on the mission field, and have spent 6 years as a missionary, I know that the very poor people of this world are often more content than Americans who have most of what they need and lots of stuff they simply want. Of course I did have people asking me to get them a visa to the USA, but most of the people in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Mexico where I lived had learned to be content with what they had (especially in Honduras). The people who are not constantly seeking things they don’t have are among the happiest people on the planet. Many North Americans who go on mission trips come back amazed that people in other countries are so happy even though they have so little. We seem to be slow to learn that things do not make us happy, relationships do.
The Bible has much to say about the use of money and material things, as a quick search will reveal.
Lies about Fame and Recognition
It seems like the majority of people want their five minutes of fame, or five seconds in the spot light. Our culture’s obsession with the movie stars, big name TV personalities or athletes and musicians has created this desire for each one to get his chance at being famous. Some people have actually done some pretty stupid stuff in that quest for fame.
What people don’t realize is that most of the big-name people are not very happy. Fame brings more problems and accentuates all previous problems. Just look at how many “stars” are getting divorced again and again and again. Do you know anyone going through a divorce who is happy? Once again, it is relationships that make us happy, not things, and a divorce is the ultimate failure to find happiness in a close relationship.
Principles that Can Guide Us
In all these things Satan promises joy, but he only delivers frustration and slavery. Our fallen sinful tendencies make us want to believe him, so we sometimes go for whatever the temptation is. But invariably the only good that comes from having gone down that road is to be reminded once again that Satan is a liar, the father of lies and nothing he says is completely true.
Here are some principles that can help us when we are tempted:
1. If it violates God’s word it will not bring joy.
2. If it increases my self-centeredness it will not bring joy, for self-centeredness does not know the word “enough.”
3. If following Satan down a given road for one step reveals that he lied about it bringing joy, following him the second and third steps will only prove that he lied a second and third time. No matter how far down that road you go you will not find joy, only enslavement. For example, if lust does not truly satisfy, neither will soft porn, neither will real porn, neither will hard-core porn. A lie is a lie no matter how far you chase it.
Beware of Satan’s Beguiling Delusions
I have been saying all along that Satan’s most basic characteristic is that he is a liar, a deceiver. In Revelation Satan is referred to by four names, Satan, the Devil, the Serpent, and the Dragon. Two of these names (the Serpent and the Dragon) point to his crafty deceit.
Far too many people live under one of Satan’s many delusions. To say it another way, they have fallen prey to his deceit.
His delusions will be unique for each person. He convinces many politicians that they will be able to handle the power without letting it corrupt them. Pastors can be deluded into thinking that a small compromise will not hurt anyone. Business men, teachers, lawyers, cashiers and factory workers can fall to similar delusions. The same is true in our roles as husbands and fathers, or wives and mothers. He takes advantage of our fallen condition to draw us into a deluded state where he can exercise more control over us. We will most likely not see it, but others do, and God does. All of us should ask God to search our hearts and show us if there is any of the enemy’s delusion influencing our lives.
The next lesson is Satan Uses Our Intelligence against Us.