J.R.R. Tolkien, a devoutly religious man, declared himself a Christian, and noted that this fact could be deduced by reading his stories. If you are unfamiliar with Tolkien, he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. A new series on Amazon Prime, called The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, is based on Tolkien’s work as well.
Sauron, the character who represents Satan or the enemy, is shown to be the great deceiver. In one such story in the series, Sauron describes a situation to an elf, who represents a person of faith. The elf, who had been deceived by Sauron’s lies only a short time before, sees through the pretense this time. He looks at Sauron and declares, “You are so good at deception that you are capable of even deceiving yourself.”
The enemy, Satan, has had a very long time to learn the craft of dishonesty. He seeks to trick even the faithful follower. He manipulates the believer into thinking that a sin or a struggle faced is so big that even God Himself cannot help or does not care. If he can isolate the believer into buying into this untruth, the believer feels alone and unworthy of the care and compassion of God and fellow Christians. The believer then gets stuck in their own heads and repeats the lies so often that they feel that they are now “the truth”. The fabricated story that the enemy has sought to create is one that keeps the believer away from God, just as the enemy himself is. The enemy had to have deceived himself so much that he now believes this is the best place to be, apart from the love of the One who created him. His lies seek to make us believe that too. Romans 8: 38-39 tells a different story:
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJV)
The enemy may also seek to destroy us through the “little” lies. Does it really matter if you don’t pray today? Cheating on your taxes just this once can help you get past this tight financial spot. Viewing that site isn’t that bad, is it?
Sauron is shown in the series gaining the trust of those unsuspecting people around him by giving them what they most want. “Here’s a way to help your people.” “This will create unity.” On the surface, it may seem to be the best path, but when examined closer, those lies are more apparent. The help Sauron provides creates false unity and assists him in the long run rather than those he claims to want to aid.
John 8: 44 (ESV) says this:
You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
2 Corinthians 11:14 (ESV) points out Satan’s disguise:
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
So how do we defeat the lies, both big and small, that the enemy seeks to have us believe?
Ephesians 6:11 holds the answer!
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
So, believer, get dressed so that you can stand against the lies!
