2 Corinthians 4:5 NIV
For we do not preach ourselves,
but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus'
sake.
Who Runs The Show?
A few years ago a little
Chihuahua mix showed up in our yard without tags. Two of the kids were the first ones to spot
the little dog and they thought they noticed someone in a parked car watching
to see what happened to the dog and when they picked her up, the woman drove
away. Pretty soon it was clear the puppy
was a part of our family and I cannot say which is true: we adopted her or she
adopted us. Early on, Salsa, as we named
her, responded to me as the alpha male.
She quickly came when I called her and although others in the family
might give her a command, it was hit or miss whether she would obey. Our daughter taught her cute tricks and Salsa
loved everyone in the home and everyone loved her but my voice always brought
her obedience even if others might find her stubbornly resistant to doing what
they said. Even now, when someone must
get her back, it is me that can push her to obey if no one else can.
The Civil War in the
United States was not about slavery although that was the spiritual issue. The Civil War was fought over authority. Who would make the decisions for the entire
country? That was the question at hand
and it is the chief issue for each person today and from the beginning of
time. Who directs the soul? We make religion unnecessarily
complicated. Most intuitively comprehend
its essence but it is a ball of tangled twine when put in human hands. The question we face today and since the
first humans walked the earth is, “Who runs the show for you?” We have lots of possible candidates. Science.
Political figures. Celebrities
and You-tube stars. Parents. Spouses.
Employers. Allah. Shiva.
Fame. Fortune. Yourself.
Christ.
The very first sin in the
world was initiated not by lust or even desire but by a question as to who runs
the show. Pay careful attention to the
interaction between Satan and Eve. It
begins with a rather innocuous question.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord
God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat
from any tree in the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1 NIV) Essentially Satan was asking Eve if she was
sure what God said. Eve replied without
hesitation. The woman said to the serpent, "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, and you must not touch it,
or you will die.'" (Genesis 3:2-3 NIV) There was no fumbling
for an answer. She stated precisely what
the Lord told her husband Adam before she was made. And the Lord God commanded the man,
"You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you
will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17 NIV)
So Eve was not unaware of
the command of God. She knew exactly
what the Lord’s instruction was. Quickly
Satan came back with the most devious of insinuations. "You
will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows
that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil." (Genesis
3:4-5 NIV) It was subtle, this intimation. “You can’t count on God to tell you
everything. I know what I am talking
about and I can help you enjoy life better.
Trust me in this!” Eve fell for
the trap. Her loyalty shifted and Satan
gained her trust. Most are like
Eve. They don’t even realize what they
have done before its too late. Rather
than be God’s through and through they take up some other lord for a bit and
then as they go along, it is not God at all but Satan who is trusted. Nothing about this transaction seemed weird
or devious to Eve. It was not premeditated
or spiteful. Satan gained Eve’s
confidence and off she went like a child chasing the ice cream truck down the
street
Most of us don’t decide
that Satan is our great friend and advisor.
We aren’t a part of some devilish cult!
Yet we give ground to Satan in our hearts and without knowing what we
have done, great tracts of our reasoning and decision making become
Satan’s. It killed Eve and it kills us
too. Not immediately and never
grotesquely but comfortably, casually.
Nothing illustrates this quite so eloquently as the brief comment the
Apostle Paul makes at the end of his life.
Writing to his good friend Timothy, Paul sadly tells of how his once
faithful co-worker Demas gave ground to Satan and changed his mind on God. Do your best to come to me quickly, for
Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. (2 Timothy 4:9-10 NIV) “Loved this world” is code in the Bible for
taking up with Satan. It sounds rather comfy
though. “Loved this world.” Warm and cozy like sitting in front of the
fireplace as a toasty fire burns brightly, loving the world seems reasonable
when put before you by Satan. It just
means that you like to be comfortable, you want to enjoy life. Do what makes you happy. Yet, dogging our steps as we slip through the
door and into the world is that what was true for Eve and then for Adam is true
for all of us. “The wages of sin is
death…”
If you knew Demas, you
probably would say that he was a good guy.
He may have been witty, smart, talented, working for good causes. Yet, there was something terribly wrong with
him and it was that Jesus was not Lord of all for him. Christ was a companion, a great source of
insight and important to him but not Lord and that is the dividing line in
life. Either, Christ is Lord and King
over you or Satan is reasonable and makes sense to you. It is fascinating the account of Joseph and
his unyielding allegiance to God. We
cannot say how Joseph acquired such persistent loyalty to the Lord. It probably was not his mother who pushed him
along there because she famously stole away from her father his household
idols. Joseph was firm in his commitment
to God and it manifested itself in his response to temptation. When Joseph was sold into slavery by his
brothers and came to be a servant of the Egyptian Potiphar, Potiphar’s wife
tried her best to seduce him. Joseph’s response
to her revealed his fidelity. How
then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" And though she spoke to Joseph day after day,
he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. (Genesis 39:9-10 NIV) This was real commitment to God that transcended
cool interests and enticing opportunities.
It was loyalty.
When Jesus gave the
summons to James, John, Peter and Andrew to come follow Him, it was not about
what most stress. Nearly every teacher
of the passage emphasizes the wrong aspect of it. Read Jesus’ invitation in its entirety.
"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and
I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19 NIV) When you follow Jesus and really do follow
Him, not just when it is convenient or necessary or reasonable, He remakes
you. What is so damaged and wrecked by
sin becomes His to heal and make perfect.
In the disciples’s case, Jesus said He would make them into fishers of
men. What might He do with you if you
choose Him over Satan at the moment there is a choice between the two? It is impossible to know just now but you
will find that He will do this. He will remake
you and could there be a more wonderful and desirable gift you could ever
receive? Depression and discouragement
will be taken out of you when you are fiercely loyal to Jesus. Anger and addiction will be removed
also. Even the hurts and brokenness caused
by sin will be carefully and tenderly done away with in you if you are loyal to
Jesus. So many Christian people struggle
to be free of the damaging effects of sin in them and they could be made right
by ceaseless loyalty to Christ.
Elijah put it to the
people of his time this way. "How
long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but
if Baal is God, follow him." (1 Kings 18:21 NIV) Either it is God or it is Satan. Waffling between the two leads to every
plague of the heart. Consider just how
badly warped both Adam and Eve were psychologically after only one time
choosing Satan over God. They were afraid
of God, disconnected from each other and self-loathing. Imagine the complexity of brokenness hundreds
and thousands of times choosing Satan over Christ brings. Jesus put it another way. "No one can serve two masters. Either
he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24 NIV) It is
either Christ or Satan at any moment and you must decide who it will be that
runs the show. You can always tell when
someone has let Satan lead them around and be the one guiding them. They lack the supernatural peace only Christ
can give those who follow Him. Remember just
what Jesus says to each of us who come to Him.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give
you rest.” (Matthew 11:28 NIV)
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