As most of you know, we are ministering on the front lines in Harrisburg as community life coaches. God has been using this aspect of our ministry to provide practical tools for people who are trying to rebuild their lives in the midst of great devastation. Part of that recovery process involves helping them see the lies that they have received and believed.
We have been presenting you several quotes from Dr. Chris Thurman, author of the book, The Lies We Believe. He categorizes the lies we believe as Self-Lies, Worldly Lies, Marital Lies, Distortion Lies and Religious Lies.
Over the last few weeks, under the category of Self-Lies, we exposed the thoughts that many of us believed were truths; thoughts we built our lives upon that are really lies that the enemy has tricked us to believe; thoughts that cause us to be unhappy, unloving, and unsuccessful. This week we will begin to talk about the warping effect of worldly lies.
Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, states, "The truth must essentially be regarded as in conflict with this world; the world has never been so good, and will never become so good that the majority will desire the truth."
Dr. Chris Thurman shares some very strong views on popular media as he introduces the worldly lies. He says, "...advertisements, television shows, movies, magazines, music, and self-help books shout messages at us such as: Grab all the gusto! Look out for number one! Do your own thing! If it feels good, do it! Your feelings are your best guide! You deserve to be happy!"
My husband and I have been appalled about the prescription drug commercials! Of course they begin with what the medication is designed to do to help someone, but then the rest of the presentation is about the seemingly endless list of negative side effects of the medication.
It's simply bizarre that one of the side effects usually includes some of the symptoms that the medication is supposed to relieve! So what is the truth about the drug?
It’s amazing that there are people who believe everything they read in the newspaper, as if the articles are written by people who aren’t imperfect human beings, biased by their own opinions and agendas.
People actually believe that all these Reality TV shows are actually real. They don't see the obvious, that the scenes are staged and arranged to make the storylines more interesting to the audience.
As we go about our daily lives, we are so busy that we start to believe that all of the news presentations, the reality TV shows, and the popular talk shows, as if though these celebrities know best how we should live our lives and deal with life’s challenges. Even some Believers tend to follow these worldly views more faithfully and willingly than the Word of God.
We now have Believers adopting worldly quotes and instead of denying self, taking up our crosses and following Christ, the motto is a bold and self-promoting claim of, "Do You!"
We must stop and think about these heart-warping effects from the lies of the world. How many of the subjects, presented by the world, are coming from a place of integrity? Many of the world’s viewpoints are dangerous and hinder us from having a healthy mental and emotional well being. Regrettably, there are many who are so indoctrinated in the world’s viewpoint that the true harmful nature of these viewpoints is not recognized. They are seen as harmless and entertaining.
Dr. Chris Thurman reminds us concerning the analogy of the “frog and water” metaphor.
It goes like this: if you drop a frog into boiling water, it will immediately jump out because it can tell quite clearly the danger it is in. Yet if you put a frog in room temperature water and slowly heat the water until it is boiling, the frog will remain in the water and boil to death.
A frog adjusts to small changes in the water’s temperature over time until it loses its life for having done so.
This is the society in which we live. Worldly belief systems have been added to the TV shows we watch, the advertisements we absorb, the music we listen to, the books we read or listen to, school books, games, etc. Every aspect of society has been indoctrinated with a view point that dismisses God as irrelevant.
What’s even more dangerous is that these destructive belief systems have been added to our daily lifestyles. The outcome of accepting these worldly lies is that our lives are now filled with unhealthy emotional and mental instabilities, self-centered living, and selfish behavior.
For instance, I see this strong selfish mindset as the foundation that leads to deadly car accidents because people refuse to stop texting and driving. Their impulse to text is more important than anything and anyone else. You can see this warped mindset in husbands and wives who are having relationships with people outside of their marriage. I see the worldly lies as the foundation in abuse of every kind, hatred, jealousy, selfish ambition, envy, murder, and the way it seems that people are not able to distinguish between what is good and what is evil.
The TRUTH is, God sent His only Son to die for us in order that we could have life and have life more abundantly. He has given us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness. God has made hope and a future available to us, but we have to choose to believe it and receive it. God’s kingdom and the way His kingdom is ordered, is diametrically opposed to the way the world lives and believes.
Which belief system will you choose to follow? Will you follow the worldly belief systems that are fraught with and led by selfish human beings and their personal agendas, or will you choose to be a Kingdom citizen and receive the benefits of an abundant life?
We are teaching our coaching clients how to turn away from the worldly lies, so they can have the opportunity to become rich beyond monetary value.
For the least of these,
Carol L. Green
