I said, "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince." Arise, O God, and judge the earth, for You shall inherit all the nations. (Verses 6-8)
"Because your heart is proud and you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,' yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god -- you are indeed wiser than Daniel. No secret is hidden from you. By your wisdom and understanding you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver for your treasuries. By your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth -- therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you make your heart like the heart of a god, I will bring foreigners upon you." Ezekiel 28
Again with the heart. We are little gods, given kingdoms in varying degrees of import. Some rule vast empires, others rule only themselves. Either realm can be corrupted with the pride of heart that deems us smarter than God Himself. Since my realm is of the smaller ilk, I need to start with me. Lord of my actions, ruler of my emotions, queen of my attitudes and princess of my perceptions. My Father has indeed made me god of my life. But I'm just a human. My rulership is limited to my vision. My small, simple world view. Lest I think of myself as God...instead of a child of God.
The lush green of the garden and the morning song of the chirping birds made the early walk a joyful pleasure for the new man and woman created for fellowship with and the pleasure of the Father Who met them there. Their Creator delighted in their formation, given minds like His and put into the lavish setting designed after a heavenly garden through which a mighty river flowed. God talked with them. Instructed them about how to live in the beauteous place. The Creator told Adam, before He made the woman, everything was his to enjoy -- except one tree. He couldn't eat its fruit or he would die. It was sacred. Death a concept not well formed in Adam's nascent mind. Adam surely repeated the warning to his lovely bride, Eve. All was theirs to enjoy. All. But the one thing.
A lovely creature, slippery skin flashing multi-colored in the glory of the sun, saw the naked couple as they wandered about the paradise, plucking blackberries and splashing in the Euphrates. Their joy made it rankle, the serpent thrown to earth out of his rebellion toward his God. He'd tried to be an equal in his grander estate. Made himself a god and, indeed, gathered quite a following before the Almighty had enough and threw them all to earth. Adam and Eve walked near the tree in the center of the garden. "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" (That is not what He said.)
Eve corrects the serpent. "We can eat from all but the one in the center. We can't eat from it -- or even touch it!" (That is not what He said.)
"You won't surely die! That's a lie! What God knows is that if you eat of that tree you shall be godlike -- knowing good and evil."
Hmm. God is a liar. He isn't good. His motives are cruel, selfish, capricious. All about Him. Eve. Why is she the one the serpent picked to speak to? Didn't the command come straight to Adam? Isn't her relationship with the tree hearsay? Something in her already upset about the idea that there is a tree she can't pick from. And now she knows why. God would keep her from the joy of knowledge. Crunch. Crunch.
"Here, husband, this is the best fruit I've had since I came to the garden." Crunch. Crunch.
And they were like gods. Knew their nakedness. Knew their sin. Were destroyed by the pride that says, "I will be like God." They paid dearly for their munching into hubris. We all have. Death wasn't in God's plan for man...His perfect will was for us to live eternally in a garden paradise with a mighty river running through it. That is still His plan. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. Also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations. (Revelation 22) And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. (Revelation 21)
The same enemy still lies to us about God's intentions. All those rules. All that stuff the mean old God says we can't have...can't do. Just taste and see. You won't die. You'll simply experience all the stuff He doesn't want you to know about. Yeah. Like shame, remorse, abandonment, loss, regret, heartbreak and lies. That's what it means to be my own god. Little 'g'.
I fear we aren't much smarter these days. The enemy of our souls needs nothing more than he used in the garden in the beginning. We want to live as gods without restrictions wielding the power of our own will to make ourselves rich, famous, powerful and beautiful. We want to say we did it our way. For those who have rejected God, refusing to understand how much higher He is than we, God just might let them make some headway in this world. After all, we will serve somebody. Like it or not. We are not sovereign. Satan can bless us just so far as he can lie to us about his Creator. But the ruler of this world always...always...has one goal in mind. Utter destruction. Dressed in a lovely outfit, hissing beneath his undershirt. Stroking our pride. "You don't need God."
As the little god of my own life, I have a choice. Just like the first two people God allowed to walk in His presence. I can rule it my way. Tried that. And you? Yeah, I know. You get to do whatever you bloody well want. No strings. It might be working better for some than it did for me. So, I choose door number two. Putting Another on the throne. A benevolent King Who rules everything, knows everything, and is everywhere. I relinquish being a god in order to be God's.
"Because your heart is proud and you have said, 'I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,' yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god -- you are indeed wiser than Daniel. No secret is hidden from you. By your wisdom and understanding you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver for your treasuries. By your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth -- therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you make your heart like the heart of a god, I will bring foreigners upon you." Ezekiel 28
Again with the heart. We are little gods, given kingdoms in varying degrees of import. Some rule vast empires, others rule only themselves. Either realm can be corrupted with the pride of heart that deems us smarter than God Himself. Since my realm is of the smaller ilk, I need to start with me. Lord of my actions, ruler of my emotions, queen of my attitudes and princess of my perceptions. My Father has indeed made me god of my life. But I'm just a human. My rulership is limited to my vision. My small, simple world view. Lest I think of myself as God...instead of a child of God.
The lush green of the garden and the morning song of the chirping birds made the early walk a joyful pleasure for the new man and woman created for fellowship with and the pleasure of the Father Who met them there. Their Creator delighted in their formation, given minds like His and put into the lavish setting designed after a heavenly garden through which a mighty river flowed. God talked with them. Instructed them about how to live in the beauteous place. The Creator told Adam, before He made the woman, everything was his to enjoy -- except one tree. He couldn't eat its fruit or he would die. It was sacred. Death a concept not well formed in Adam's nascent mind. Adam surely repeated the warning to his lovely bride, Eve. All was theirs to enjoy. All. But the one thing.
A lovely creature, slippery skin flashing multi-colored in the glory of the sun, saw the naked couple as they wandered about the paradise, plucking blackberries and splashing in the Euphrates. Their joy made it rankle, the serpent thrown to earth out of his rebellion toward his God. He'd tried to be an equal in his grander estate. Made himself a god and, indeed, gathered quite a following before the Almighty had enough and threw them all to earth. Adam and Eve walked near the tree in the center of the garden. "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" (That is not what He said.)
Eve corrects the serpent. "We can eat from all but the one in the center. We can't eat from it -- or even touch it!" (That is not what He said.)
"You won't surely die! That's a lie! What God knows is that if you eat of that tree you shall be godlike -- knowing good and evil."
Hmm. God is a liar. He isn't good. His motives are cruel, selfish, capricious. All about Him. Eve. Why is she the one the serpent picked to speak to? Didn't the command come straight to Adam? Isn't her relationship with the tree hearsay? Something in her already upset about the idea that there is a tree she can't pick from. And now she knows why. God would keep her from the joy of knowledge. Crunch. Crunch.
"Here, husband, this is the best fruit I've had since I came to the garden." Crunch. Crunch.
And they were like gods. Knew their nakedness. Knew their sin. Were destroyed by the pride that says, "I will be like God." They paid dearly for their munching into hubris. We all have. Death wasn't in God's plan for man...His perfect will was for us to live eternally in a garden paradise with a mighty river running through it. That is still His plan. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. Also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of nations. (Revelation 22) And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. (Revelation 21)
The same enemy still lies to us about God's intentions. All those rules. All that stuff the mean old God says we can't have...can't do. Just taste and see. You won't die. You'll simply experience all the stuff He doesn't want you to know about. Yeah. Like shame, remorse, abandonment, loss, regret, heartbreak and lies. That's what it means to be my own god. Little 'g'.
I fear we aren't much smarter these days. The enemy of our souls needs nothing more than he used in the garden in the beginning. We want to live as gods without restrictions wielding the power of our own will to make ourselves rich, famous, powerful and beautiful. We want to say we did it our way. For those who have rejected God, refusing to understand how much higher He is than we, God just might let them make some headway in this world. After all, we will serve somebody. Like it or not. We are not sovereign. Satan can bless us just so far as he can lie to us about his Creator. But the ruler of this world always...always...has one goal in mind. Utter destruction. Dressed in a lovely outfit, hissing beneath his undershirt. Stroking our pride. "You don't need God."
As the little god of my own life, I have a choice. Just like the first two people God allowed to walk in His presence. I can rule it my way. Tried that. And you? Yeah, I know. You get to do whatever you bloody well want. No strings. It might be working better for some than it did for me. So, I choose door number two. Putting Another on the throne. A benevolent King Who rules everything, knows everything, and is everywhere. I relinquish being a god in order to be God's.
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