A subtle and dangerous war is on! It’s going on all over the world right now! This war is history’s most destructive conflict, far surpassing the many wars of history. The appalling thing about this war is that few are prepared to do anything about it. It would shock us all to know how many people don’t even know the conflict is raging.

Every war has its instigator or cause, and this one’s no exception. This war is being waged by none other than Satan himself. The battleground is your and my mind. The weapons? They’re so numerous that it would be difficult to enumerate them all.

As I pondered this war for man’s mind, I thought about one of Satan’s main weapons in our age. To be specific, I’m thinking about the mass media. These media include the Internet, television, radio, newspapers, and news magazines.

People can be manipulated by things they read and see. We know how the writings of Hitler, Stalin, and other violent visionaries influenced millions of people, enslaved many, and led to wars that destroyed thousands. People are even more manipulated by the things they see, hear, and read.

I shudder when I consider how people’s minds are molded by the media. The Bible calls such control strong holds (2 Corinthians 10:4). It is going to take God’s power to break strong holds in our lives brought on by the things we have allowed to control our minds. Are we going to be controlled by these things or will we allow God to control us and bring us lasting satisfaction and eternal life in Heaven?

The mass media has done some good things in keeping people informed and giving warnings concerning storms and other physical dangers. But the same media propagates violence, sexual vice, drug culture, rock music, and a host of other things that tear down society.

Television, radio, and the Internet, in the hands of the wrong people, can subtly influence thousands to do things they never would have dreamed of doing.

What will those who control the media do next? Will they advocate drug use, abortion, mercy killing, persecution of those who don’t “conform” to the majority? Many of these things are already happening. What will be next?

In light of how Satan has taken possession of the mass media, where do I stand? What can I do? God made me with a free will and the ability to make choices. Will I let Satan, through what I see or hear, program my mind to blindly follow the voices and pictures that beckon me?

Satan’s drive to control our minds through the Internet is nightmarish. If only we could wake up and find it was all an unpleasant dream—but unfortunately, it isn’t a dream, it’s real, it’s facing us. The battle is on for the control of our minds.

Praise God there’s still hope in such a dismal, demon-controlled world. Deliverance from Satan’s power can be yours and mine if we turn our minds over to God.

Through His Word, God can insulate our minds from satanic controls, if we let Him. I’ve heard of Christians who, through the power of God, resisted even intensive Communist and Nazi brainwashing that would have broken the spirit of any ordinary person.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). What can we do to resist Satan’s subtle brainwashing through the media and other areas?

We must first let God control our minds. Then we need to avoid being brainwashed. This will mean different things for different people. Certainly this will mean fleeing the temptations, not looking at the things that will take our minds in the wrong direction. In Bible times some even had book burnings to get rid of books that controlled their minds (Acts 19:19). Many people in our day have thrown away books, magazines, CDs, and other things that battled for the control of their minds. We all need to carefully watch and guard ourselves from Satan’s subtle attacks. If he can’t get us one way, he will try another.

We need to fill our minds with that which is good, beginning with God’s Word, the Holy Bible. “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11).

From: Reaching Out

语言

English

作者

Roger Berry

出版社

Reaching Out

主题

思考生命