A Subtle, But Powerful, Deception

By Recuore, November 10, 2010

One of the more powerful forces influencing us in Western culture is the deception that the material world is the final and true explanation of reality.

We are scientifically literate, which is good, but we are often spiritually illiterate.

The story presented in Scripture is that we live in a time when two kingdoms are in conflict and the battle is played out in the lives of men and women here on earth. There is goodness, beauty and life in the Kingdom of God. There is death and destruction in the Kingdom of the Evil One.

This is why there is no such thing as mundane. Our lives take shape in the context of the two kingdoms in conflict. There is no Switzerland.

And one of the key strategies of the Evil One is to deceive us into thinking that he is not active. When we start down that road, we put ourselves into very hazardous situations.

And at some deep, often unspoken level, our hearts know this to be true — at least a little.

This is why the mythic tales speak to us and draw us in. The Lord of The Rings, Braveheart, Titanic, the list goes on and on of stories which tap a hidden vein of obscured reality.

While our jaded culture, and sometimes us with it, often mocks bravery, chivalry and nobility, we love it when someone fights for what is right. At least we love it when it benefits us.

We love it when someone overcomes great odds and loves someone else really well. Most people celebrate a good wedding; and then the multiple anniversaries that follow — if the marriage lasts that long.

As addicts, we are prone to live entirely wrapped up multiple deceptions. There is the deception that the Evil One is not active — perhaps even a fiction. There is also the deception that the very pornography we consume is having no ill effect on us. There is, further, the deception that even if you think you might break free of it one day, such freedom is impossible. And the list goes on.

At the heart is the deception that the images of women in pornography could ever satisfy us; or help us; or even complete us. The big lie is that pornography makes you feel like a man while all the while it emasculates you.

And the more time we spend in the world of pornography, the more deceived we become. Simply put, deception gives birth to deception.

The truth is that the other kingdom, the Kingdom of God, breaks in regularly. And freedom is much closer than you might think.

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