From the very beginning, it has been the devil’s plan to entice mankind away from loving God with all their hearts.
God created a place for Adam and Eve not only to live, but to thrive.
A beautiful garden with SO MUCH to choose from. It was such a beautiful place. It was such a perfect place. Until the devil gets on the scene and begins to convince them that what they had was not good enough.
This is an endless cycle. Even today.
The clothes you bought not too long ago, not good enough any longer.
The car you bought a few years ago, now there is something better.
You can fill in the blank and list any item. The devil will lie to you and tell you that it’s not good enough anymore. There is something better out there.
Back to the story of Adam and Eve, the devil begins to lie to them and tell them about this one tree that they are missing out on. The Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is nothing new…it has been around since the garden!
Here is one definition:
“The fear of missing out is an emotional response to the belief that other people are living better, more satisfying lives or that important opportunities are being missed. FOMO often leads to feelings of unease, dissatisfaction, depression and stress.”
This is how the devil wants all of us to live…dissatisfied, stressed, depressed and in the state of restlessness because of something we shouldn’t have.
Now, let’s back up for a moment and see what God told Adam and Eve about what they COULD HAVE in the garden.
“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:15-17
Here is how good God is to us: His yeses far outweigh his no’s!
And even though that is very clear when we pause and consider, for some reason, we want the one thing that is just out of reach.
What is the enemies plan in all this? It is not about you having more things. He couldn’t care less if you have more things. It is all about you loving things more then you love God. He wants to distract you so you would shift your adoration, your love, and your worship away from God!
Here is what happened in the garden…
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Genesis 3:6
Three things happened in this verse:
- It was a temptation of the pleasure for physical fulfillment (it was good for food).
- We see this again when Esau sells his birthright for a bowl of porridge…a temptation of the pleasure for physical gratification.
- It was a temptation of the pleasing of the eyes (the fruit looked appealing).
- In the new testament, we see this again when the devil tempted Jesus by showing him all the kingdoms of the world he could have if he worshiped him…there was a temptation that was pleasing to the eyes.
- It was a temptation to be prideful (to make one wise).
- Judas and his betrayal of Christ is another example of this type of temptation.
What is the devil’s end game? To get you to love him more then you love God.
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15
Guzik comments on this passage, “The world’s progress, technology, government, and organization can make man better off, but not better. Because we like being better off, it is easy to fall in love with the world.”
“For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” 1 John 2:16-17 NLT
May we hear what God is saying to us today.
May we crave Him more than anything else in this life. More than physical pleasure. More than anything we can see. More than the pride of achievements and possessions.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2
“Write a letter to the leader of the church at Ephesus and tell him this: “I write to inform you of a message from him who walks among the churches and holds their leaders in his right hand.
“He says to you: I know how many good things you are doing. I have watched your hard work and your patience; I know you don’t tolerate sin among your members, and you have carefully examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but aren’t. You have found out how they lie. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
“Yet there is one thing wrong; you don’t love me as at first! Think about those times of your first love (how different now!) and turn back to me again and work as you did before; or else I will come and remove your candlestick from its place among the churches.” Revelation 2:1-5 TLB
