Exposing the Lie

Today I began reading an interesting book, called A Beginner's Guide to Reality, by Jim Baggott. My taste in books is quite eclectic (this is a secular book on philosophy, aimed at a popular, non-Christian readership) and I often read several books at the same time (I'm also currently reading Holiness and the Spirit of the Age, by Floyd McClung, The Second Coming of the Church, by George Barna, and The Synaptic Self, by Joseph LeDoux). But this particular book fascinates me, because it explores the issue of reality and how we perceive it.

It starts off by posing a question: "Are you living in a dreamworld?"

Most of us would answer, "Of course not!"

But the book, on page 13, goes on to say this:

You are living in a world created almost entirely by the modern consumer society of which you are a part. You work hard and earn money just so that you can pursue a dream in a world fabricated almost entirely from your fertile imagination, aided by a relentless barrage of images from the media, in which it has become impossible to distinguish image from reality, style from substance. Some would argue that this is a world that has become a simulation, one in which all contact with or reference to the "real" reality beneath has been lost. A world where...the images and the style and the substitutes have become more real to us than reality itself.

The book then, on page 14, goes on to say this:

For sure, this is still a world of physical things, of houses and cars and planes and credit cards. But these physical things have become much less important than the images they create, or the messages they send. So, we no longer drive a car, we drive the ultimate driving machine, one with Vorsprung durch Technik, hand-built by robots. We board a plane and fly the friendly skies, with the world's favourite airline. We use a credit card because it's everywhere you want to be, your flexible friend, and you don't leave home without it. We buy consumer goods that are designed for living, made with us in mind, through the appliance of science. We talk to our friends on the phone because it's good to talk, and the future's bright...We try harder. We just do it, because we're worth it and we know where we want to go today.

Few of us realize just how persuasive this consumer-driven reality is and how much even Christians have bought into this counter-reality. As Jim Baggott points out:

You will insist that you can tell the difference between reality and the images, woven by the marketers, the public relations executives, the government spin doctors, or the news media. But you can't. In every case what you receive is an imperfect representation or a simulation of reality that will be more or less distorted, depending on what's being sold, or the size of the lie...Modern consumer society runs on a simple principle. We are fed an illusion of what we would want our world to be: a world in which we are more handsome or beautiful, slimmer, more successful, more respected, cleverer, richer, happier. We allow ourselves to become convinced that we can achieve this world if only we buy this car, own this home, this stereo, this mobile phone, read this book, eat this food, drink this beer, use this credit card, fly this airline...Not for nothing is it called the American dream...We are living in a dreamworld.

Have you bought into this Lie? Many don't realise it, but this Lie is being preached from some pulpits, cloaked in Christian terminology and sweetened by a sprinkling of Bible verses. But Paul is clear about the insiduous trap that this Lie represents. In 2 Timothy 6:3-5, Paul warns Timothy:

"If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain."

In 2 Timothy 6:6-10, he goes on to explain:

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

In Ephesians 2:2-3, Paul describes the way of life we experienced when we "followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts..." As Paul describes it, there is a "spirit who is now at work" in society, feeding "the cravings of our sinful nature." Today, we would describe the "spirit of this age" as a materialistic, consumeristic, even narcissistic worldview energised by "spiritual forces of evil" (Ephesians 6:12).

This consumeristic worldview is in direct conflict with the message of the Gospel and yet, unbelievably, great swathes of the Christian population have bought into this worldview, seduced by its deceptive promises. This is not surprising, since in 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul says:

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ..."

Sadly, though, it is not just the minds of unbelievers that the "god of this age" has blinded. Believers, too, have been co-opted into this deception, and like all those blinded by deception, they are totally unaware of the deception - save by a direct revelation from the Spirit of God. But this should not be wholly unexpected. After all, Jesus calls Satan "the father of lies" in John 8:44, and he has had, literally, thousands of years of practice at the art of deception. He is the Master of the Lie.

The Message puts John 8:44 in this way:

"...the Devil...couldn't stand the truth because there wasn't a shred of truth in him. When the Liar speaks, he makes it up out of his lying nature and fills the world with lies."

Floyd McClung, in his book Holiness and the Spirit of the Age, states that this world "is dominated by a spirit which is opposed to holiness and righteousness - what the Bible calls the spirit of the age...[It] is the spirit of selfishness. Though it takes many forms, it boils down to one thing: me first. Call it what you like - self-fulfillment, pleasure, whatever. It is evil. Satan is seeking to destroy the church of Jesus Christ by turning our attention away from Him and toward ourselves" (p.12). Floyd then encourages us to ask ourselves some very specific questions:

"Am I caught up in the spirit of the age? Am I materialistic and independent? Have I pushed God to the margins of my life? Am I so overwhelmed with modern life that I have withdrawn from others? Do I think God owes me a good life: health, wealth, happiness, etc? Am I actively pursuing these things?"

He then perceptively addresses the Lie, as it has infiltrated the Church, in the form of what he calls "the good-life gospel":

"The good-life gospel is a very subtle and convincing expression of the spirit of the age. It has seduced thousands of believers. In a world sold out to self-fulfillment, Christians have been duped into believing that the good life is their inheritance. Instead of calling us to lives of holiness and service in a self-centered culture, the perpetrators of the good-life gospel are urging us to grab what belongs to us by divine right...The same spirit of the age motivates both believers and nonbelievers; only the surface rationale is different. Christianity has merely translated the world's line into Christian lingo."

If we are truly to be the "light of the world" and the "salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13), we must be distinguishably different from the world. As Jesus said, although we are in the world, we are not "of the world" (read John 17:14-19).

Jesus said, "...you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32), and later qualified the nature of this truth when he said, "I am...the truth" (John 14:6). If you would like to learn more about the Lie and how you can personally respond to the Truth in your life, feel free to download a lesson I wrote for the Online Bible College on this subject from the link below:

http://www.online-bible-college.com/downloads/es102-16.pdf

This is the great challenge - possibly the ultimate challenge for this generation of Christians. We are not to "conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but [to] be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). Let's be renewed in our thinking today! Let's recognise the Lie for what it is! Let's respond to the Lord's challenge and be a People of the Truth!