Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” This quote has been attributed to Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda chief in Germany during World War II. But the original idea came from Adolf Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf. He was accusing the Jews of Vienna of trying to discredit Germany’s activities – specifically General Erich Ludendorff – during World War I. He stated “in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods.”
Hitler and his propaganda minister were experts at big lies and used them to generate and nurture anti-Semitism and to justify the Holocaust. Historian Jeffrey Herf said that they used the long-standing anti-Semitism in Germany, and in all of Europe, into mass murder. Their big lie was depicting Germany as an innocent land under siege that was simply striking back at “international Jewry” who were to blame for starting World War I. They further claimed that the Jews had power behind the scenes in Britain, Russia and the United States, and that they had begun a war of extermination against Germany; therefore, Germany was justified in annihilating Jews in self-defense.
Hitler was a good liar. Madeleine Albright, who was a girl in Prague when the Germans advanced against Czechoslovakia, wrote, “Hitler lied shamelessly about himself and about his enemies. He convinced millions of men and women that he cared for them deeply when, in fact, he would have willingly sacrificed them all. His murderous ambition, avowed racism, and utter immorality were given the thinnest mask, and yet millions of Germans were drawn to Hitler precisely because he seemed authentic.”
French philosopher Alexandre Koyre was born in Russia in 1892 to Jewish parents. He studied in Russia, before traveling first to Germany and then to Paris to continue his education. When World War I broke out in 1914, he joined the French Foreign Legion and served on the Russian front after volunteering in 1916 for a Russian regiment. After the war he taught in Paris and Cairo, and moved to New York City during World War II. He later returned to Paris, but frequently visited the US, where he was a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin, as well as Johns Hopkins.
Koyre wrote, “The mob believes everything it is told, provided only that it be repeated over and over. Provided too that its passions, hatreds, fears are catered to. Nor need one try to stay within the limits of plausibility: on the contrary, the grosser, the bigger, the cruder the lie, the more readily it is believed and followed. Nor is there any need to avoid contradictions: the mob never notices; … needless to strive for coherence: the mob has no memory; needless to pretend to any truth: the mob is radically incapable of perceiving it …”
While you may think that I am getting to the point that we humans are extremely gullible, I am really wanting to look at something else. I want us to think about how easily we believe lies, yes, but deeper than that. I want us to be clear about where lies come from and how much destructive power they can have. Lies ruin reputations, break relationships, and keep us from being the wonderful, talented people that we are.
The story begins all the way back in the book of Genesis, not long after God had created the world and everything in it, including human beings. Things were going along pretty well there in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had everything they needed: food, water, and the presence of God, who walked in the garden with them in the cool of the evening. Life could have been perfect forever, if not for one very crafty, very subtle creature who understood the power of a lie. That creature was the serpent.
When God placed Adam and Eve in the garden, apparently he had only one rule: they could not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the punishment for breaking that rule was severe: if they ate it, they would surely die. It makes me think that perhaps death was not originally part of God’s plan for human beings. But death was something that they could bring on themselves if they could not obey God’s rule.
Well, one day Eve was hanging out with Adam near this off-limits tree. The serpent showed up and engaged Eve in conversation. “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” What a sneaky thing to ask! The serpent was quite intentional in asking this question; he wanted to get the woman – and presumably the man, who was with her – to question God’s command; really, to question God’s authority and truthfulness. Eve quickly answered, “No, that’s not true. God said that we can eat from any tree except this one tree. We can’t even touch it, or we will die.” That wasn’t exactly what God had said; Eve added the part about not being able to touch the tree. But she had the right idea. Then the serpent flat out lied to Eve: “You will not surely die.” Then what was God’s motive in restricting them from eating the fruit of that tree? The serpent said, “God knows that when you eat that fruit, your eyes will be opened and then you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Between the lie and the temptation of becoming like God, Eve began to look at the forbidden fruit in a different way. She saw that it looked good to eat, and it was attractive to look at, and besides, it would give them more wisdom. So she picked a piece of the fruit off the tree and bit into it. She also gave a piece to Adam, who also ate some of it. And what God had said did come true; their eyes were open and they realized they were naked. And they engaged in a great cover up of their nude bodies.
Of course, we know the more substantial result of their disobedience was being put out of the garden by God. Adam would, from then on, have to till the ground and grow their own food by his hard labor. Eve would suffer pain in childbirth. And the serpent would crawl on his belly on the ground. And, even though they did not die that day, they would die. Human life was limited. And the trust between human beings and God had been broken, and the relationship would only truly be made right again thousands of years later when Jesus came into the world.
Lies are powerful. And we all tell lies to ourselves, if not to others. And the source of lies is always Satan, the serpent, the enemy of God. I know that I have had to confront the lies I tell myself, lies that have been planted in me by Satan. The lie that says I am not good enough, that I am not enough. The lie that says I am unworthy of the love of God. The lie that says I am not successful. And these lies have the power to undermine my self-confidence, to make me afraid, and to make me lower my expectations of what I can do. They bind me and blind me and separate me from the full power of the grace of God.
What is the antidote to the power of lies? The power of truth. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” The truth is that God created me and God loves me and I am enough for God. The truth is that I don’t have to be successful; I only have to be faithful. The truth is that I am capable and gifted and God can use me. And the truth is that God will empower me to do what he calls me to do.
What truth do you need to reclaim? What lies do you need to let go of? How has the serpent craftily led you to believe them? Just as there can be great power in lies, there is also great power in truth. Trust in God and listen to his voice. It is repeating the same words over and over: “I love you, child. I love you just because you are my child. I will always love you. Believe this. Believe me. I will never lie to you.”
