Once upon a time, Lucifer (Satan) tried to take over Heaven. He failed and was kicked out of that glorious place, and doomed to eternal punishment. Along with his demons (fallen angels). He seeks vengeance, but can’t he can’t touch God. The only thing Satan can do in revenge against God is to hurt you. Someone the Heavenly Father dearly loves
Satan desires for each of us to live selfish, miserable, lonely
lives. He whispers his temptations in the most attractive and convincing manner
possible. He wants to undermine your trust in your Heavenly Father. Satan will
tell any lie in order to get you to do the wrong thing, but you don’t have to fall for it.
The truth is that nothing in the world will satisfy you
other than God. Satan enjoys lying to one of society’s most impressionable
member, the teenager. Read the dishonesty below that Satan wants teenagers to
believe. Whether they take this as truth is up to all adults:
1.
Follow your
heart and do what feels right: Our culture
says, “If it feels right, do it.” Our heart lies to us. What does Scripture say
about the heart? “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately
sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 NASB) Our dreams, desires and
wants are marred by sin.
Following
our heart leads us from idol to idol, relationship to relationship, and we end
up broken. I have heard many teenagers say, “I know I shouldn’t have sex with
my boyfriend/girlfriend, but I’m following my heart. It just feels right.”
Feelings lie. The truth is that we do not know what we want.
2.
If you are not
involved in a romantic relationship, there is something wrong with you:
I started dating someone in high school mainly because I feared people would
think I was weird if I was single. That decision led my walk with Jesus into a
downward spiral where I eventually hit rock bottom. Satan wants you to
compromise for a relationship, instead of waiting on God’s best. There is
nothing wrong with you. Christ is setting you apart and preparing you for your
future spouse. Do not settle. Set your standards high.
3.
You are just a
youth: Satan wants you to think that, because of your youth, you
cannot make a difference. Jeremiah used this excuse when God called him;
however, God told him that He would work through him (Jeremiah 1:4-8). Paul
told Timothy not to let anybody discourage him because he was young (1 Timothy
4:12). God used David, Samuel, Mary and others who were young. Do not use age
as an excuse. Use it to your advantage. God’s plan for your life begins
now not later.
4.
Your identity
hinges on others opinions of you: Everyone struggles
with this lie. I enjoyed my childhood, but I hated middle school because I did
not know who I was or what group I fit in. I thought I was weird because I did
not fit into a particular group, but still felt I was supposed to. Do not
compromise your identity for acceptance.
Your
identity is not in friends or relationships. It is in Christ alone. If you
forget that, you will make decisions based on being “accepted” when Christ has
already accepted you. Understanding your identity leads to healthy relationships
with God and others.
5.
Your parents are stupid: If
the enemy can convince of this, it will erode your foundation. Humans struggle
with authority beginning with God’s authority, then our parents’ authority. If
we cannot submit to authority, we will always have problems.
There are some bad parents, but for the most
part, parents love their children, and their rules are for a reason. Parents
are not stupid. Glean from their wisdom and experience. Save yourself a lot of
heartache by listening to your parents. They are your biggest advocates.
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to
get its pants on. “ (Winston Churchill)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“31 Sneaky Lies the Enemy 
Wants You to Believe” by beliefnet
·
“5 lies Satan wants teens to believe” by Clayton King
This post was inspired by the
Netflix documentary Kirk Cameron:
Connect.
No comments:
Post a Comment