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The Struggle

 

In 1923, Adolf Hitler began writing Mein Kampf from a jail cell. The autobiographical manifesto that was published in 1925 after his release from prison demanded a revolution to overthrow the “oppressive” nature of the current government. He called out the “social injustice” of the prevailing regime and sought to throw off the fetters of that establishment and thus restore Germany to the greatness to which she was entitled.  

 

He promised Germany he would grant her the rights and freedoms she deserved. But in reality, Hitler seduced Germany into accepting some of the vilest injustices the world had ever seen and introduced Germany to unprecedented persecution and oppression.  

 

Sound familiar? We hear much about social injustice in our outrage culture today. Angry, self-proclaimed saviors of the “oppressed” point to the “abuse and manipulation” of minorities and the “underprivileged.” They promise freedoms and rights that are currently “withheld” by hateful conservatives. They paint a picture of people being held down by an abusive government that is singling them out.  

 

These “socially enlightened” preach freedom, but train dependence -  dependence on the very government they undermine. They promise prosperity but disempower the people they pretend to help. These people - the minorities and poor - are being seduced to accept a new, but equally atrocious version of slavery. 

 

This lie is as old as mankind. It is the oldest and most tantalizing lie the universe has ever known. It is the lie from the Serpent in the Garden of Eden: 

 

 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5).  

 

“God is lying to you!” Eve is told by Satan. Essentially, the Serpent’s message is: “God does not actually love you or want what is best for you. He is holding back and pressing you down. He is manipulating you. You deserve better! But you don’t need Him to be all that you can be. You can be enlightened. You can throw off His oppressive demands and arbitrary rules and thus become your own god! And then and only then can you truly be free.” 

 

Just like Germany and many in our society today, Adam and Eve were seduced by that message of counterfeit freedom. In choosing that path, the first humans were subjugated to the ultimate bondage, enslaved to sin and destruction. And thus began the desperate plight of all mankind.  

 

That is the true struggle of man: to put himself in his rightful place under God. The temptation is to attempt to take His place in our lives. It is the same lie that Satan still whispers in our ears today. 

  

We must not seek to throw off God’s authority, but rather throw off our own sinful desires to usurp His role. In the irony of all ironies, only by subjugating ourselves to God can we experience true freedom.   

 
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32 

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