3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
You will know that the serpent did not force Eve to take the fruit. He simply twisted the truth, beautified sin, and left out the horror, pain, shame, and death that would come with their disobedience. He told a good lie. And that is what we face every day at work, at home and even in our spiritual life as we can encounter false prophets as well.
A good lie is usually hidden within the truth. As a citizen of Gods world, it is important to be able to uncover a false narrative. Had Adam and Eve been able to cut through the smooth lies of Satan, man would not be where we are.
We think that if part of what we are told is true, then the rest of it must be as well. Media is a perfect example of how this works whether the lie is hidden in a picture, music or written message. The best example is Satan in the garden of Eden, when he gave a explanation of why God did not want Adam and Eve to eat of the fruit. It was plausible, it was based on an aspect of the truth, so they fell for it. They did not stop to think of the qualities of God: That He did not want them to eat it because He did not want them to experience evil. Because he knew that it would destroy their innocence and purity, introduce shame and guilt, and bring death into their lives. But because A and E did not think it through, nor had a Bible to guide them, they were taken in.
Robert Hampshire in Christianity.com says this- The tree represented the choice between submitting to God’s law or pursuing “moral autonomy.” That is why the serpent said, “You shall be as gods...”
Ironically, God had already made Adam and Eve as close to “gods” as any humans have ever been. He created them “in his image,” positioned them together in complete harmony, breathed into them his own breath, empowered them with dominion over all of creation.
A lie will always have an objective, which one needs to understand. David lied, as is did Rahab and many more. Though their objectives were honorable, they were still lies. Yet the objective of Satan was not honorable as it was the downfall of man.
This is exactly what we need to be able to ascertain, when the deceiver tells us stories, usually to cover up some sin of omission or commission we may have committed or are tempted to commit. When we are tempted and succumb, our minds are fed with rationalization and justifications. These are stories which act as covers, tightly surrounding the lies so that we lose sight of the wrong we have done or plan to do. This is as true in our personal and professional work and relationships as it is true in our spiritual life.
So how does one uncover a good lie? Use the Bible as a yardstick for finding the truth. Build a relationship with God and His representative, the Holy Spirit. Walk and Talk with God as did Adam. Go to His word. Adam did not have that advantage. But we do.
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