Living with the Lie

By Mark A. Taylor

The sermon reminded us again of the sly lie the devil told Eve.

“You won’t die if you eat that fruit.”

And I couldn’t help but remember how he continues to whisper the falsehood in the ears of vulnerable believers today.

“No one will know, no one will care if you do this just once.”

“You believe God loves you? Then why does he let you suffer like this?”

“See what your integrity has gotten you? Why don’t you wise up and have a little fun and make some money? Isn’t it time to stop denying yourself?”

The Pain of Living in a Fallen World

I pondered how our fallen world continues to produce pain and heartbreak, even for those who live for God amid the brokenness, and I felt a surge of emotion I wasn’t expecting. Perhaps that’s because of just one week’s litany of sorrow, enough to fill a lifetime, each trouble a burden for a faithful Christian:

• A diagnosis of a rare and misunderstood disease threatens to turn a life upside down.
• A suicide after years of mental illness breeds searing grief not just for one loss but for decades of dashed dreams and unrealized potential.
• A broken home continues to produce pain and pressure, even when the Christians in the family try to bring healing to the mess.

More than once I’ve pondered the fact that all the distress and dysfunction in life can be traced back to the devil’s lies. The greedy employer, the overbearing boss, the unjust workplace. The system that ignores the need of the individual in order simply to perpetuate itself. The politician more concerned about his income or his reputation than the needs of those he’s supposed to be serving. The road rage on the highways and death on the interstates in the wake of drunk drivers and ignored speed limits. The pulsing egos of Little League coaches and soccer moms who push underperforming children beyond their endurance.

All of this is the result of people believing the same lie: “You know best. You deserve whatever you want. You, you, you are always the first and most important consideration.”

And even when we choose wisely and well, we still must live in a world that dreads death, fears disease, and vainly tries to hide from disaster. Two bad decisions, Eve’s and Adam’s, have left us longing for Eden but trapped on a planet characterized by travail.

Finding Encouragement in the Gospel

If it weren’t for the gospel, how could we cope with a life like this one? And therein lies the reason I’m not discouraged by all this sadness. I’m moved again to remember this world is not my home. It is but a temporary valley of toils and tears—sometimes painful, but also beautiful enough to spark anticipation for the next world where Satan will be gone. And Christ came to give us hope for that home as well as wisdom to cope with this one.

Now ours is the challenge to focus on an eternity with him, reminding ourselves of God’s promise that Adam and Eve didn’t understand: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” I’ll cling to that promise, encouraged by a sermon that exposed the truth about the serpent’s lie.

Author: Mark A. Taylor

Mark A. Taylor, who served as Christian Standard editor from 2003 to 2017, retired in June 2017 after almost 41 years with Standard Publishing (Christian Standard Media).