WHO’S CONTROLLING YOUR NARRATIVE
Controlling the narrative is the buzz phrase today. It is among the most prevalent phrases in society, business, politics, sports and life in general: "controlling the narrative."
Controlling the narrative is, telling it your way, before someone else gets to tell it — their way. Narratives can set a person on the wrong path or set them on the right path, depending on how the narrative is told and received.
For example, let’s say that you are taking a morning jog at the beach, and as you’re running along, you see a kid struggling to swim out in the water. You see a man swim out to try and save the young boy, but unfortunately he’s unsuccessful in saving the boy, and he swims back to shore. You are the only witness to the series of events. As people now swarm the scene, the narrative of this man’s life and what happened to the boy, the series of events are in your words, and your narrative of the events will and does affect people’s perception, whether true or false.
What if you say that they were swimming together and it looked like the man deliberately tried to drown the boy? Or what if you say he tried to save the boy from drowning in a heroic effort but came up short. Your narrative literally controls whether this man will be charged with murder, or in the local news for being lauded as a hero.
WHO’S CONTROLLING YOUR NARRATIVE
Whether you believe it or not, accept it or not, when it comes to life, humanity and the world, there are only two narratives at play and being told, God’s narrative and the world’s narrative, and the world’s narrative is influenced by the evil-one, and your living to one narrative or another whether you want to believe it, accept it or not.
Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. Luke 11:23 / Matt. 12:30 – What Jesus emphatically means is, there is no neutrality. You are either a disciple/follower of Jesus or you are a disciple, albeit, maybe unaware, reluctant, and uncertain, but a follower nonetheless, of this world and its leader – satan, who narrates disobedience, doubt and unbelief to his followers.
1 John 5:19 says, We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
2 Corinthians 4:4, calls satan "the god of this world"; Jesus calls him, "the prince of this world;" John 12:31; as well as, Ephesians 2:2, says satan is the "the prince of the power of the air." In all these passages they speak of Satan having influence and control over the world’s followers, who as my Brother Paul says, is the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that works in the children of disobedience. Now, the reference to power of the air, is a simple analogy, that means satan broadcast to the world his influence of doubt, unbelief and disobedience, and people follow the narrative broadcast by satan and his minions. It’s like a news broadcast sent through the airwaves for all people to hear. Those who tune it to the broadcast listen and many follow it.
I read this book almost 30 years ago, called the Prophet. And, the main protagonist was a news reporter who began as an atheist, but through a series of events, He came to the truth, and became a born again believer. As he grew in the truth, he began to realize the truth of the world being controlled by the prince of the power of the air through thoughts and opinions broadcast through the media. He thought to himself one day, “as a news reporter, if I were to go on the air and tell everyone that it’s been proven the color brown has been linked to people experiencing delusions, manic behavior, and other psychological disturbances, the very next day you would hear and see people reacting to the color brown in the manner he described, though it is completely a lie.” Well, that’s what it means in Eph. 2:2 “the prince of the power of the air”—he has been broadcasting his false narrative before the fall of man. First to the angels he fooled into following him in rebellion against God, then to the first man and woman God created, causing them to disobey God bringing sin into the world. This is why Jesus calls Satan a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). But, before Jesus called Satan a liar and the father of lies, He actually said, Satan was a murder from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
What does Jesus mean when He says, Satan was a murder from the beginning, not holding the truth? What Jesus is referring to is, Satan’s falsehood, his false narrative of God, and what God said, to man which led to, caused, and was the direct result of the death of man.
Satan planted seeds of doubt in Eve’s mind with a question (Genesis 3:1), then he directly contradicts God’s Word by telling her, “You will not certainly die” (Genesis 3:4). With that false narrative, Satan led Eve to her death; Adam followed, and so have we all. Satan, a murder from the beginning, because of his false narrative to man.
Adam & Eve were not even pursuing perfection; they were experiencing it. They were living in God’s garden and given free reign. The Satan came and gave them a false narrative, planting the seeds of doubt, disobedience and unbelief— and they followed Satan’s narrative and not only fell to sin, but brought sin into the world, and death with it.
Look examine the narrative Satan presented to Eve. that set up shop in Eve’s mind: She knew what she was walking towards but the narrative was so controlling that she continued to steps towards it.
Gen. 3:1-5 “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”4“You will not certainly die,”. 5“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
The first thing Satan does is narrates to Eve to question the things God said…. Did God really say. Eve responds by saying, God did tell them not to eat from the tree that is in the middle of the garden; but, Eve adds a couple things that to it, which God did not say. She says, “you must not touch it”… and you will die.” Right there, Satan knew he had her. Because he got her to create to create her own narrative about God and what He said, which changes matters. What the Lord actually told them was, Gen 2:16-17 “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 (He didn’t say anything about not touching it.): for in the day that thou eatest thereof THOU SHALT SURELY DIE.” Which is not you will die.
Now, the subtle change from “thou shalt surely die” to “you will die”, puts a different spin on the narrative. In using the words "you will die," instead of "ye shall surely die" [Ge 2:17], Satan got Eve create a narrative in her mind, speaking to as if the tree had been forbidden because of some poisonous quality of its fruit, rather than what consequence would follow for defying and disobeying God. And, Satan, as Satan does, pounced all over this… “You will not certainly die” (Genesis 3:4). This narrative caused in Eve’s mind, to not only doubt the truth of God’s word, but to party distrust God Himself, because of Satan directly accusing God of not telling her the truth. Satan then narrates to Eve that God is not telling her the truth, and directly implies that God was holding something back from her: 5“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” You can be your own god, he narrates to her. Don’t you want to know both good and evil, be like God? God is holding things back from you, He doesn’t want you to be a god, like him. Choose to be your own god, knowing both good and evil?
Look at the power of the narrative. Since the beginning, Satan has worked to infect God’s world with doubt, confusion, and accusations. His weapon of choice: narratives that influence the perception of man. He uses twisted half-truths and lies, deception and manipulation.
Lying is Satan’s primary weapon against man. He uses the tactic of deceit to separate people from their heavenly Father. Some of his more common lies are “there is no God,” “God doesn’t care about you,” “the Bible cannot be trusted or true,” and “good works will get you into heaven.” There are many ways to heaven. You can believe in God your own way. The apostle Paul tells us that Satan “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), so that what he says and does sounds good and seems reasonable. But it is nothing more than false narratives. Satan has told more lies than any other being ever created. And, he depends on people believing his lies. He has used everything from “little white lies” to huge, pants-on-fire whoppers to deceive folks. Adolph Hitler, one of the most evil men to have lived, a known occultist, a man who learned from his father the devil on how to lie effectively, once said, “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” And, as we know, many followed his lies, his narratives which lead to mass deaths and world war.
Many of Satan’s lies tend to perpetuate themselves. This is what happened when Eve convinced Adam to follow along with the devil’s narrative that God was holding something back from them, and maybe not telling them the truth. Today, Satan still uses people to spread his narratives, his lies for him. Often, he uses charismatic but foolish people to further his falsehoods, as in the case of false religions and cults, and people wanting to believe the world, the creature rather than the creator.
Now, God’s Narrative to man is His recorded Word, The Holy Bible. As I always tell people, the Holy Bible is but a collection of testimonies of God’s interaction with man and man’s interaction with God, given by account of witnesses who recorded the events.
God makes His narrative to man plain for all to see, hear and know, and is not hidden from those who wish to know it. God’s narrative is not in subterfuge, through manipulation or deception, but made plain for man to come too.
The issue with God’s narrative for man is that we are subject to it – not the other way around. Ps. 119:89 tells us, Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. This passage can also be translated, “Your word . . . stands firm in the heavens” (NIV), “Your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” (ESV), and “Your word is established in heaven forever” (GW). The term settled means “established, and carries the idea of absolute stability. Meaning, God’s Word is eternal, absolutely, immutable, and perpetually. It does not change. It is static, immutable, incontrovertible, indisputable, unchangeable, fixed, absolute and will not change. It is truth!
The Psalmist says it this way Psalm 119:160: “The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever”… or as the NIV puts it, All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.
God’s Word, His narrative is static, it does not change, will not change or be manipulated to suit the person, people, society, generation or culture. It does not change to suit a view, opinion, purpose or narrative. It remains static, settled and is the same yesterday, today and evermore.
The problem is, man, who is influenced by this world, which lies under the sway of the evil one, doesn’t want to submit to God’s narrative, but wants to make God’s narrative submit to them. As it tells us in
Romans 1:18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things…. 28And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;
God’s narrative is forever settled, and does not change or conform to man. Man cannot change God’s narrative of His creation, His truth, His Justice, His Righteousness, His Sovereignty. His Word is forever settled, it is eternal, immutable, unchangeable.
But, God, has given man free agency (or what you may call free will), allowing man to choose which narrative he will listen too. God isn’t like Satan; He doesn’t try to trick or deceive man into following His narrative. God, completely allows us to choose, which narrative to follow.
But, Satan, who is called the great deceiver, a universal liar, the father of lies, a blinder of minds, influencer, knows that for man, perception is everything; and a person’s perception starts with forming the reality of a narrative in a person’s mind. And, by this, he can easily lead man astray by convincing man, that they can create their own narrative apart from God, about God and to themselves. For most, perception is reality, and it is the narrative that shapes the perception of their reality.
We all have a story that we tell ourselves and others about who we are, where we come from, and where we are going. And, whether we realize it or not, believe it or not, accept it or not. When it comes to life, humanity and the world, there are only two narratives at play and being told, God’s narrative and the world’s narrative! And, the world’s narrative is influenced and being told by the evil-one who hold sway over the world! These are the only two narratives at play in the world, and we are living to one narrative or another. And, as we go through life, we must be aware of these two narratives and choose which one we will align ourselves with. We cannot be neutral in this battle for narrative control. We must actively choose to align ourselves with God's narrative and resist the influence of the world's narrative. And, this is what Jesus meant when He told us, “He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. (Luke 11:23 / Matt. 12:30). This statement of Jesus defines everyone’s position as to where they stand in terms of which narrative of life they will follow – the world’s, which is influenced by the evil one, or God’s narrative of truth.
The Narrative is critical when it comes to accurately defining your experience of life, with God or against God. Narratives can and does control our trajectory of life – eternal life, that is. Controlling the narrative is one of the main strategies and devices Satan uses to manipulate us to live in doubt, unbelief and disobedience to and towards God. He knows that perception for many is their reality. And, the narrative for many controls their perception. It’s the narrative we follow that shape our lives. I’ll say it like this. The life we live is a direct reflection of the thoughts we think. Our life’s decisions and direction are a result of our thoughts, and our thoughts are directed by the narrative we follow. And, our narrative is the stories we tell ourselves, which shape our beliefs and actions.
My Friends, the battle for control of our narrative is always ongoing. The god of this world, the evil-one, is always seeking to control our narrative with his lies and deception, but we have the ultimate weapon in the Word of God. When we let God’s Word of truth guide our thoughts and actions, we can resist the lies and temptations of the evil one. So, let us make a conscious effort to saturate ourselves in the Word of God and allow it to shape our perception and perspective to God’s truth, grace, faithfulness and love. Let His Word be the ultimate authority in our lives, that it may guide us to live out God’s story for His glory.
Remember, the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly, which includes eternal life. So, choose today whom you will serve and let God's narrative find life in you!
Join us and share in our animated Bible Studies youtube.com/fitwnetwork
