I dislike unsweet tea. I was born and raised in the south, and many could say that sweet tea is in my blood. The problem is that to make my tea sweet enough to my liking, the amount of sugar is not good. My lifestyle and exercise habits are just not sufficient to negate all the good stuff my body takes in from sugar, and it becomes a health concern the older I get. So, I decided to switch to artificial sweeteners. They have no calories and change the flavor of the tea and tricks me into thinking it is as sweet or sweeter than sugar. The more I drink artificial sweeteners, the more I want to drink it. I know it is not real sugar, but I have acclimated myself into desiring it more than actual sugar, to the point of cravings.
Spiritually, many of us follow a similar path. Our lifestyle does not support the real Christianity our soul desires and needs, so we offer something artificial that more suits our goals. The church of Galatia was having this happen in their midst. Paul writes to Galatia: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:6-9).
Why would there be another gospel? Why would people preach and follow such absurdity? Therefore, God sent them “a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12). Philippians 3:19 adds, “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.”
People live their lives and get into routines, cycles, and lifestyles that fit their desires. In our modern era, people are praised for fulfilling their heart’s desires, and a sense of duty to something other than self is often discouraged. The justification of the ego is how the world ensnares those who live in it. To justify one’s own beliefs and desires feels good and makes us desire more.
The message of God is desirable. Who does not want to inherit eternal peace, joy, and comfort everlasting? Even those who claim that they do not wish for it, are still seeking it in some way. Those who do submit to God are faced with a decision. When following Christ, we will either conform our way to His way, or we will try to forge our own way under the guise of saying it is His way for us. There is a reason why Paul told the Ephesians: “There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6). It was because that, “if [they] accept a different gospel from the one [they] accepted, [they] put up with it readily enough” (2 Corinthians 11:4c). They put up with it because, “The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
These myths give these people what they desire, and the mind or body is satisfied. Because their heart is not on God, but on self, they have now created a god to worship which is tailored to their wants and desires. It is the basic form of idolatry which God spoke so prominently about through the ages. People whose minds are seeking God but insisting on doing it on their terms through ignorance, or their own lusts, are of a strong belief that they are following God and that He is their desire. This is manifest in phrases like, “God wants me to be happy,” or, “I know it in my heart that …”
Just like the artificial sweetener in my tea, they have been fooled that they are getting “the good stuff” when everything they genuinely believe is artificial; a lie which they have convinced themselves to be truth. One that has become so addictive that when presented with the truth, it is repugnant to them. Instead, they create their own “truths” and justify those “truths” by preaching them as the Word of God. This is another gospel: “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16).
Lance Byers