ARE YOU FOLLOWING CHRIST OR THE CROWD? “Propaganda is a truly terrible weapon in the hands of an expert.” Those words were written by none other than Adolf Hitler. He understood the power of manipulation and deception to accomplish his diabolical objectives. His propaganda machine cultivated hatred and suspicion and fear. Hitler was certainly not the first to grasp the power of brainwashing and manipulating people. Twenty-five hundred years before Hitler, a Babylonian king named Nebuchadnezzar also understood the techniques of shaping people’s worldview. Babylon was a world superpower, and its armies were sweeping across the known world-conquering nation after nation. Along with their world domination came immorality and idol worship. Part of Nebuchadnezzar’s strategy was to identify the brightest and best from the countries he conquered and turn them into leaders for Babylon. So he deported some young Hebrews from Jerusalem to Babylon and entered them into a three-year graduate program in brainwashing. Everything for these young men was turned upside down. Their environment, their diet, their language, and their education were all changed in an attempt to make them forget that they were Jews. Their names were even changed to Babylonian names in an attempt to systematically eradicate their past. But Nebuchadnezzar was not the inventor of brainwashing and manipulation. Thousands of years before Babylon ever came on the scene, Satan invented brainwashing and manipulation. Ever since that moment in the Garden of Eden when Satan said to Eve, “Did God really say . . .?” (Genesis 3:1), he has been manipulating people. Satan masterfully uses the world system to shape our thinking and challenge our beliefs. Just like Hitler, Satan has a propaganda machine, and he will use every means possible to influence your worldview. He will come at you through movies, talk radio, advertising, websites, education, and a thousand other subtle ways. We have a powerful enemy who would love to deceive us and brainwash us. That’s why in Romans 12:2, the apostle Paul calls us to be separate from the world. He gives a very straightforward command: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world.” WHAT ABOUT YOU? Spend some time today thinking about some of the ways that Satan seeks to manipulate and brainwash you and your loved ones. Today’s Takeaway God telling you to live separate from the world’s values is like you telling your kids not to drink poison.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 14:36:43 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015