Warnings from the Garden: Uncovering the Wiles of Deception
by Tavares Robinson
The Safest Place in the World
The safest place in all the world is inside the will of God because God is with us, and his grace empowers us; however, we must not believe that we are untouchable when we are inside the will of God. That is never true. In fact, we are much more attractive to Satan when we are living on the inside than on the outside, for Satan wants to see how devoted we are to the will of God. The game Satan played in the Garden of Eden is the same one he plays today. He sought to take advantage of Adam and Eve because they were in God’s will. Adam and Eve were content as long as they understood that their work in the Garden was about God’s glory, but they fell when the Serpent convinced them that it was created solely for their pleasure. For Satan’s plan to succeed, then, his first ploy involves a word fused with propaganda.
What Is Propaganda?
Propaganda is derogatory information of a biased and misleading nature used to promote a particular point of view. Propaganda is information or ideas spread to influence people’s opinion, especially by not giving them all the facts or by secretly emphasizing only selected facts. Satan found out in the Garden that he can entice us to do something by using propaganda. When the Serpent began talking, it was the first time humans were ever tempted, and it is still true today that anytime the Serpent begins talking, we are being tempted. In the Garden Satan used a ploy; he waited until the woman was alone. Satan speaks to us privately today as well, as he does not want our thoughts to be exposed. Satan preyed upon Eve because she had no direct revelation from God. Adam was the one who had told her what God said. Eve had an indirect revelation, so Satan pursued her rather than go to Adam. The Serpent did not begin by saying, “Do you believe Adam?” Instead, he asked her if she believed God, which undermined Adam’s authority. Satan knew that if Eve didn’t believe God then Adam’s instructions to her were irrelevant.
When God tests us, Satan tempts us. God’s test can cause us to become weakened. When we respond in the wrong way, we open the door for Satan’s temptation. Temptation is an enticement to do evil. We must never forget that when Satan talks, he speaks lies to convince us to do evil and to violate the Word of God. It is an allurement to miss the mark, a solicitation to become independent of the will and the requirement of God. Think about it: Why are we in God’s will? It is not because of his Word? That is why after God gives a Word, Satan shows up to whisper, “Has God indeed said…?” Satan hooked Eve by creating suspicion in her thinking. There was an underlying assumption that maybe God did not say what Eve thought he said. His question left room for her to come up with her own opinion—and that form of the Devil’s propaganda is still popular today.