Labeling the Lies

No one likes to be lied to.

When someone lies to you, you get angry. And for good reason. You stop trusting that person. You are cautious of other promises that person might make to you. Like the villagers who kept hearing the shepherd boy cry "Wolf!," you become skeptical of the liar's claims.

Jesus calls Satan "a liar and the father of lies" (Jn. 8:44). That's what he does. He lies. It's in his character. He's full of empty-promises, twisted half-truths, and unfulfilled expectations.

Satan's work in Scripture is introduced by the serpent's words to Eve: "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowling good and evil." It's a flat-out lie. He promises one thing (wisdom, pleasure, life) and delivers another (death and loneliness). And for the rest of the Scriptural narrative, lies continue to be Satan's game.

"David, it's okay to take a census of the people. You'll feel much safer if you do, and it will show everyone how great of a kingdom you've built." (1 Chron. 21:1)

 "You don't need to go to a cross, Jesus. There are easier ways to get a kingdom. Bow down to me, and it'll all be yours." (Matt. 4:8-9).

"You've got to hand Jesus over, Judas. It's what's best for the nation. You'll go down in history as a hero." (Lk. 22:3)

The lies continue today--this demonic bait-and-switch. Wealth promises security and the absence of worry, but it brings added stress. Pornography promises emotional fulfillment but delivers isolation and loneliness. War promises peace at last but results in just more hatred. Drunkenness promises an escape from life's problems but actually compounds those same problems.

I've been thinking lately about the way we Christians often talk about sin-issues, and I wonder if the nomenclature we use hinders are resistance to Satan's ploys. We talk about being tempted, struggling, or wrestling with sin. Those may not be bad ways to speak, I suppose. Biblical, in fact. But it seems odd to me that I can use the same word for the sins in my life ("I'm being tempted to spend my offering money on a new iPad instead") as well as for the desserts I get after dinner ("Mmmm, that ice cream sundae sure is tempting!")

When I talk about being tempted, I often feel enticed. I feel desirous of the sin being waved in front of me. And that doesn't help me resist.

Maybe we would do better if we called sin what it is: A lie. When I realize I'm being lied to, I no longer feel enticed by it. I feel angry. And when I'm angry with the liar (in this case, Satan), I'm not very apt to go along with what he says.

Imagine you bought a car from a used car lot--one of the ones with a salesman in a plaid suit and giant inflatable guy flapping around out front. The salesman tells you that the car is in great shape. In fact, it's just had an entirely new engine put it. He tells you it should run without a problem for years. So you purchase the car and drive off the lot, but before you even get it home, smoke starts puffing out of the hood, and it sounds like someone is shaking a tin can full of nails. You pull over, pop the hood, and immediately see that the engine is not new at all. It's falling apart. The belts are broken, the gears are clogged, and it all looks terrible. When you go back to the salesman to complain and get your money back, he tells you, "Too bad! Looks like you got a lemon, but you're stuck with it!"

My guess is that you would be pretty angry in that situation. And the next week when the salesman called you up and said, "Have I got a deal for you! Just come on down to the lot, and we'll hook you up with a another luxury car," you wouldn't be very enticed. One lie--one bum deal--that was enough.

Satan is a lot like that used car salesman. He keeps making offers. "This time will be different!" But it never is. He always fails to deliver. And that should make us mad. When Peter told Jesus, "No Jesus! You won't be crucified!," Jesus didn't sit and ponder, "Hm...he might have a point. Maybe I don't need to go to the cross." Instead, Jesus shouts back, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man" (Mk. 8:33).

In my own mind, I have been trying to label invitations to sin as lies, and it has been helping me. Maybe it will for you too. Satan is a liar, and liars are jerks. I try not to associate with them. And when I   identify Satan's words as lies, those temptations just don't seem so, well, tempting.