Truth

When The Times invited several eminent authors to write essays on the theme "What's Wrong with the World?" Chesterton's contribution took the form of a letter:

Dear Sirs,
I am.
Sincerely yours,
G. K. Chesterton

It doesn't take long to recognize that something has gone terribly wrong in the world. Famine, disease, rape, death, destruction, and on and on and on. But from a macro level and a micro level the infiltration of sin has tainted every aspect of our world. Everything has fallen under the control (all under God's ultimate control) of Satan (1 John 5). Since the fall in Genesis 3 man has lived under the powerful grip of sin. Being born continuously into sin. This took place in the Garden of Eden when Eve listened to Satan's manipulative lies and was deceived, while her husband sat in sinful silence. These two sins of omission and commission embark our race into a world that has since been clearly under the power of the evil one.

But truth shines through in a timeless way amidst an everchanging world. Since Satan's lies to our first parents we have all fallen prey to deceit and deception. Satan's lie to Eve in the garden was not one of rediculous proportions but a subtle and slight manipulation of God's words and command.

"Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" He then goes on to assure that she will not die, but rather will be like God being able to distinguish good from evil. She falls for this lie and in her efforts to make herself more like God. (Clearly from scripture we find an interesting teaching because on the one hand a desire to be like God in virtue, humility, purity, holiness, all are good things, but to desire to be like God in power, authority, and dominion is clearly satanic.) But the lie, Jesus calls Satan the Father of lies John 8:44. And this is the problem we face. Christ will say that when Satan speaks he speaks only lies, which are his native tongue. So sin which is a quality of Satan not God, is always a distortion and a deception of true and abundant life.

The sins of Lust, Doubt, despair, materialism, etc... All revolve highly around lies.

The sins of self deprecation (eating disorders, unhealthy thinking habits, self hate) all of these are highly centered around the notion that you are not enough. Heavily influenced by the culture around you men and women began to feel inadequate amidst what they believe to be the standards of beauty. This is a direct violation of the Imago Dei and you belittle the image of God, listening to a lie of our world (a world under the control of the devil).

The sins of physical lust and sexual desire outside of a marriage bed, all sacrifice what was meant to be a gift that was a component of true intimacy (simply a small component not the fullness of it)and trade them for immediate gratification. Often these desires for intimacy trace back to a number of issues and complexes but in the end what we find is men and women falling for the lie that this false intimacy will fill the vacant and hollow cavity inside their chest and it only further empties it out.

Materialism, again we fall victim to the lie that things, positions, wealth, jobs, prestige, homes, cars, etc... that all of these will in some way improve our quality of life and Jesus taught openly against this, saying that there is no connection between life and wealth (Luke 12, Matt 5). We are in danger of falling for the lie that something new will entreat us, that we need this, that we deserve this, that life is too short and we have worked hard. Oh God help us, let us not fall to Satan's lies, and end up worshipping the temporal with our lives rather than the eternal.

But again it is the lie... Satan constantly toils to deceive and destroy us, his every desire is your demise. He longs to destruct your life, steal, kill, and remove all hopes of life, true abundant life from your soul.

But we have acres of hopes in the midst of such deceit. His name is Jesus he is the way, the TRUTH, and the life. He is our remedy for such lies, he is our rock in times of trial, he is our anthem of praise when the storms of life, lies, and sin come upon us. Praise God that he is beyond deception, he breathes truth into the most unlikely of places for the glory of his name and he is our Truth. He has provided a way out (1 cor 10) and he will be faithful to show us the way that leads to life, not death. Our King of Glory and truth

Lead us in the way everlasting Lord...