As we embark on this journey into human brokenness and its remedy, we must ask ourselves certain essential questions. It seems to me that the first of these is, “How did we get into this mess?” It also seems to me that the best place to start is at the beginning. To do that we find ourselves in the book of beginnings – Genesis – and its pivotal chapter, chapter 3. There we find that mankind was created innocent but not righteous.
Righteousness is innocence that has been maintained in the face of temptation. Although our story begins in perfection and innocence, it did not stay that way very long. Enter the “father of lies.” After Eve explains to the serpent that God has said they would die if they eat of the tree in the middle of the Garden, the deceiver says, “You won’t die!”
Enter the very first LIE! In essence, that lie was, “God is not good. You can’t depend on Him to give you a good life. He is withholding something good from you. If you want a good life, you’re on your own to make that happen.” At the risk of oversimplification, the mess we see around us today, the insane amount of sin and suffering we see, the brokenness we deal within ourselves – it all began when the serpent planted that first seed of doubt in Eve’s mind.
The implication: “If God is not good, I must look elsewhere for pleasure, fulfillment, purpose, and security. The solution: Be my own god and determine for myself what is good and what is evil.”
And, so it begins! Stay tuned for the second lie!