Playing God” is as rife within the body of Christ is as it is in the world outside the church. The methods may differ but the purpose is the same… control. Why do people everywhere want to control one another? My guess is that control is the way people try to manage their insecurity. “If I can control my family, my circumstances, my fellow human beings etc., I will feel more secure in my life in general.”
We see this phenomenon in churches where the pastor is the boss and where squabbles and factions break out among the leadership and the members. Real unity is impossible where people try to enforce their will on others in the body of Christ.
Trouble is, first, absolute control over everything that controls life is impossible. Second, our attempts to control clash with the next person’s efforts to control and the outcome is…war! Self-wills clash and get out of hand until destruction happens, and in society, even crime of every description.
Let’s examine the ways in which both God and His arch enemy exercise control. When we understand the principles of God and Satan’s methods, we can better identify the rule under which we live…and the ways in which we relate to our fellow humans.
First, Satan is insecure. He knows he is not God and never will be God but he still aspires to be God through deception. His passion is for the creatures God created and owns, to worship him. He must first convince them that they belong to him by enslaving them to his ways, and then by forcing them to acknowledge his ownership so that they will not be able to be free from his dominion.
Satan uses three methods to enslave and keep people in slavery to himself; intimidation, manipulation, and domination. He enforces his control by the lies he feeds into people’s beliefs. He operates first in the mind…
2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT
[4] “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”
Satan’s entry point is the mind and, unfortunately, the mind is open to his lies because the nature of fallen man is in rebellion against God and is bent towards self and sin.
Satan’s modus operandi, then, is to sow beliefs in the mind to control the behaviour. Lies are his weapon of choice. He manipulates what we think and believe with lies, intimidates through threats and fear, and dominates by overwhelming us with sinful desires and by condemning us when we fail.
By contrast, God’s passion is for His human creation to worship Him by choice. He created the human race, He owns it by creation…
Psalms 24:1 NLT
[1] “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.”
… and by redeeming humanity from Satan’s clutches through the death of His Son.
John 3:16 NLT
[16] “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
He owns and bought us back from Satan’s control at a great price but the devil tries to deceive us into believing that we belong to him.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
[19]”Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, [20] for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
God set about reclaiming His lost possession, not by force but by revealing His nature of love through creation, and through the gift of His own Son to rescue the world from its self-inflicted destruction. He calls and draws us to believe and be transformed by the truth butv He leaves the initiative to respond to us.
James 4:8 NLT
[8] “Come close to God, and God will come close to you… “
John 6:44 NLT
[44] “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.”
Those whom the Father draws will believe in Jesus.
John 6:37, 39-40 NLT
[37] However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them…
[39] And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. [40] For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”
God’s way, then, is not to control by force but by revelation. He reveals Himself through His goodness…
Romans 2:4 NLT
[4] Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?”
… and draws people to Himself by His love.
1 John 4:9-10, 19 NLT
[9] “God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. [10] This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins…
[19] We love (each other) because he loved us first.”
He even allows us to set the standards of our own judgment.
Matthew 7:1-2 NLT
[1] “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. [2] For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged”
God did not create human robots. He created humans in His own likeness, to be like Him, free to make choices, and responsible for the choices we make and their consequences.
When we try to enforce our will on others, we play the game Satan plays to control by messing with what they believe. Either by domination, or by intimidation or manipulation, we exercise illegitimate authority over others which God does not sanction.
What should we do?
First, we should recognise the difference between God’s way and Satan’s way. Satan’s method is based on lies. God’s way stands on the truth. Satan’s method is force. God’s method is choice. Our own way to lrad must be built on the truth, allowing others to choose.
Second, we should resist trying to enforce what we want on others, by leaning on the truth in every situation. Never may we override another’s right to choose. Provide options but never inflict your will on others.
Ephesians 5:21 NLT
[21] “And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
We should not use force even on our children. We should train them to submit and obey by choice because this is God’s way.
Ephesians 6:1-3 NLT
[1] “Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. [2] “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: [3] If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”
Ephesians 6:4 NLT
[4] “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.”
God’s way enlightens the mind with truth and draws people to Himself by persuading them of the truth, but….
The choice to believe or not to believe is still up to the individual.
Consider Jesus’ way…
Mark 10:17-22 NLT
[17]”As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [18] “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. [19] But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’” [20] “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” [21] Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” [22] At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.”
When we follow God’s way, we are truly God’s children, living in His kingdom, and doing His will on earth.
To be continued…