Life was perfect in the Garden until the deceiver entered and convinced Eve that the Father had withheld something from her and Adam. For the first time, she felt cheated. We know the rest of the story—how sin entered the world and mankind was separated from God's presence. Men were forced to earn a living by the “sweat of their brow,” and women began to experience severe pain in childbirth (Genesis 3:16–19, ESV). A domino effect has continued to fall all around us as the devil still works to deceive the church, government, and families today.
We can follow history and understand the many ways the enemy deceives. It begins with a lie—that we must earn God's love or His gifts. But the truth is, we don’t earn anything God gives us. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8, NKJV). Everything we receive is a gift of God, made available through the sacrifice of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. The “garden state”—a life of walking in His presence—is being restored to us in this season (Revelation 21:3–4, NLT).
History shows the sincerity of the Pilgrims who came to America seeking freedom of religion. Many early settlers, desiring to live holy lives, took oaths of poverty and wore simple clothing—black, white, and gray—to avoid vanity. Though their intentions were honorable, we must ask: why would God create such beauty in this world if we were meant to restrict ourselves to only three colors? “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it...” (Psalm 24:1, NIV).
Similarly, the early church embraced vows of poverty, believing wealth was a temptation. Yet, in Scripture, many biblical figures were abundantly blessed. Abraham was “very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold” (Genesis 13:2, NKJV). David and Solomon reigned in wealth, not for selfish gain, but to establish God's kingdom.
Even as a child, I wondered why some Christians labeled movies, music, and dancing as “the devil’s playground.” Church youth were often taught to avoid such things entirely. How sad! We are called to be the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13, KJV) and to influence every area of culture—including the arts, media, and entertainment. Movies became distorted because godly people were absent from them. The Bible speaks positively of dance: “Let them praise His name with dancing...” (Psalm 149:3, NLT). It is nearly impossible to remain discouraged when we are worshipping and dancing before the Lord.
Our prayer is that God's people will begin to reinfiltrate these cultural arenas, not to conform, but to create, influence, and glorify our God through them. Let us know God’s Word so well that we learn His heart for us—one where we lack nothing and dwell in His presence with fullness of joy. “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy...” (Psalm 16:11, ESV).
