But the work to support women and children is only beginning. It’s our time to rise up and be the men who stand in the gap for hurting families and single moms.
It’s time to show the world there is another way:
By providing help to women in our communities facing unplanned pregnancies and standing behind them with practical support.
By raising up men and boys who will not be the ones who leave their girlfriends pregnant and alone, but who are raised with a commitment to marriage and fatherhood.
It’s a day for rejoicing. It’s also a day for action.
See the video message from Promise Keepers Chairman, Ken Harrison and statements from Pastor Sam Rodriguez a legacy speaker for many Promise Keepers conferences and current member of our Board of Directors and Dr. Alveda King human-rights activist who is also a member of our Women’s Board.
Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and the senior pastor of New Season Church, said that the Christian community still has a lot of work to do to show pro-abortionists God’s love and compassion.
“This long, dark night officially comes to an end,” Rodriguez says. “The unconscionable injustice of extreme abortion policies—aligning the U.S. with countries like North Korea and China—is over. Praise God. We must now put the same energy into demonstrating mercy and compassion as we have in our activism. Now is the time for the people of God to step up, proving they are comprehensively pro-life from the womb to the tomb, with actions that dignify, care for and protect the lives of mothers, children and families.
“We must be the hands and feet. Now is the time to unleash the greatest adoption movement in American history. Now is the time to come alongside women making difficult decisions and provide the necessary spiritual, emotional, relational and economic support necessary to undergird the continuum of life designed by God for all his children.”
Dr. Alveda King posted: “Roe is no more! The Supreme Court justices’ reversal of Roe v Wade with the critical Dobbs decision today is a victory for civil rights for the unborn. Sending the discussion of life vs abortion back to the states will help “we the people” on the state level grow to ensure that every unborn baby has the civil right to LIFE. Human dignity begins in the womb!
This favorable decision allows the states to reconsider the critical life issues America is facing and is a blessing.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” MLK
One must now ponder more deeply this question: How can the Dream survive if we murder our children?”
In 1997, I stood with my sons and 1.4 million boys, young and older men on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for the Promise Keepers’ historic “Stand in the Gap” event. It was the largest gathering in D.C. history.
When the day ended, we exited the mall, and there was no trash or litter to be found. Law enforcement officers experienced not one single incident on the grounds. Time magazine covered the massive gathering as scores of men departed with vision for godly manhood and servanthood in challenging times.
I still treasure the poster I’ve kept from the unforgettable experience.
The Washington, D.C., gathering was a cherry on the cake for a ministry that reached over 7 million men in the 1990s with 50-70,000 men gathering in NFL stadiums across America.
The founder of this God-ordained ministry, Coach Bill McCartney, previously served as head coach for the University of Colorado and its national championship football team. He later departed to attend to his ailing wife and was part of a nucleus of leaders acknowledging that somehow success had gotten the best of the ministry.
A NASA scientist once shared how in the agency’s initial ventures into space, their rockets drifted off the mark up to 90% of the time. They needed a course correction on a regular basis. Like Starbucks getting overextended a few years ago, Promise Keepers needed to seek the Lord afresh about continuing, closing or simply communing with God about a needed course correction.
Today, under the visionary leadership of new Chairman and CEO Ken Harrison, the Promise Keepers ministry is being beautifully launched for a new era with exciting new vision.
Courage to Close or Continue
Being obedient to God when He specifies it’s time to bring closure to a ministry takes courage and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. During the Jesus Movement I had the privilege of being part of a leadership team serving a gathering weekly about 10 minutes from the White House with 2,000 primarily young people.
After an extended period of seeking God, we “followed the cloud” and concluded the ministry at the end of the decade. God had a new direction for many of us, and the next step would focus on church planting and leadership development.
When Harrison was invited to participate with a core of Promise Keepers leaders attempting to discern God’s direction for the ministry, he saw incredible work that would have to be done if God were to resurrect the ministry. He confesses that initially, he wanted nothing to do with it.
“But God” (how often do we read these words in sacred Scripture?) moved upon the men’s hearts and Harrison, along with a company of the committed, eventually knew God was ready for a reset and a relaunch.
Millions Impacted in 84 Countries
In July, amidst the COVID-19 crisis, men of all ages came together for a comeback virtual rally—the first one in 20 years! Lean in and let Harrison describe on the podcasts what happened. Check out the ministry’s website (promisekeepers.org) to watch highlights of the extraordinary experience that multitudes pray will be the first of many to come.
In January of 2021, this fantastic ministry is rolling out another virtual experience to inspire and equip men on the hard-hitting issues we face at this critical time. How about no-holds- barred teaching dealing with marriage and sex; losing a child; every man’s struggle, pornography—and it’s all free?
There’s just something unique, drawing God’s empowering presence, when men come together and humble themselves to be inspired and equipped to better serve God triumphantly and authentically. These chaotic and challenging times demand we be watchful and remain steadfast, bold and strong.
“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be bold like men, and be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13).
Dr. James Dobson, one of my heroes and a patriarch in the faith, exhorts us in this hour, “The Western world stands at a great crossroads in its history. It is my opinion that our very survival as a people will depend on the presence or absence of masculine leadership in millions of homes.”
Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper
Let’s humble ourselves and be honest. Isn’t it time for all of us men to recommit ourselves to practice the original seven promises of a Promise Keeper? It’s time to take a fresh look at this initiative once again.
Therefore I will not be negligent to always remind you of these things … I consider it right, as long as I live in this body, to stir you up by reminding you” (2 Pet. 1:12-13).
— A Promise Keeper is committed to honor Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God’s Word through the power of the Holy Spirit.
— A Promise Keeper is committed to pursue vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises.
— A Promise Keeper is committed to practice spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity.
— A Promise Keeper is committed to build strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values.
— A Promise Keeper is committed to support the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor and by actively giving his time and resources.
— A Promise Keeper is committed to reach beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.
— A Promise Keeper is committed to influence his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
Idea Whose Time Has Come Again
Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll has written, “Masculinity is vanishing. Throughout the land, fathers have lost their way to true manhood and have thrown responsibility to the wind. Sex roles are blurring, masculine leadership is disappearing, and like dominoes, homes and marriages are collapsing.”
In Isaiah we read that the Lord looked over a nation experiencing judgment and “He saw that there was no man” (Isa.59:16a). The prophet Ezekiel paints a similar picture in which God again says, “I sought for a man … but I found no one” (Ezek. 22:30).
Here’s the Deal: Amidst America’s cultural depravity and decline, God is moving in a fresh way to equip men to rise to the occasion as examples and engage a watching world with His design for true manhood. The reemergence of Promise Keepers in our generation is His gift to all of us. Let’s take advantage of it and make a difference in our day!
Sexual betrayal is devastating. I know because it happened to me. My own story, coupled with the voices of others who’ve experienced the same thing, shows what can happen to our relationships when we’re not diligent to protect our relationship and sex life. But there is another way.
The Impact of Sexual Betrayal
In my book Intimate Deception: Healing the Wounds of Sexual Betrayal, I share what I learned through research with 100 betrayed partners. My research revealed that 76% showed clinical symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Yet surprisingly, 88% of these same women said they would be willing to stay and work through the difficult process of healing — if the one who betrayed them would stop lying.
Men, this speaks to the incredible resiliency of the woman in your life. Most women are willing to fight for those they love. But it is critical that you understand what your wife needs from you. That’s why I recently asked 6,000 women to share their words and wisdom on the subject of sexual purity.
Most women are willing to fight for those they love. But it is critical that you understand what your spouse needs from you.
Restoration is possible, even after a betrayal. But pay attention to the insights from women [below]. They will help you avoid a disaster in your life, and your spouse will thank you. You see, to her, your sexual purity isn’t just important; it’s priceless.
How You Can Help Your Wife Feel Sexually Honored and Safe
Keep your word.
Tell me I’m beautiful.
Share your passwords.
Don’t have private social media accounts.
Don’t check out other women, thinking I don’t notice.
Take time to notice me, flirt with me, and listen to my needs so that I’ll feel cherished and protected.
Don’t look at porn. Honor my body by valuing my heart.
Look at me. In the kitchen, in the living room, and at dinner. Hold my hand. Offer a back rub or a foot rub and then let me enjoy it without expecting sex (unless I feel like initiating sex in response, of course☺).
Appreciate my “yes” and respect my “no.”
Stay present when you’re making love to me. Don’t close your eyes and go elsewhere (to your fantasy or porn library).
Take responsibility to rebuild trust when it’s been broken.
Be transparent and real in a solid men’s group that’s encouraging each other to love Jesus, their wives, and families.
Pray. Stay faithful in your relationship with the Lord.
Don’t wait. If you’re struggling with sexual purity, get help.
Be an example for our kids. They need to see what a healthy marriage looks like.
Dr. Sheri Keffer is a marriage and family therapist and a regular cohost of the nationally syndicated radio talk show New Life Live! Through her own personal story of recovery, she understands the trauma symptoms often associated with sexual betrayal and what it takes to heal well. She received the 2019 IITAP Outstanding Publication Award for her book, Intimate Deception: Healing the Wounds of Sexual Betrayal. Sheri also holds a degree in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
Perhaps you can identify with what happened to me. I was raised in a Christian home. We lived next door to my grandfather, whose name I carry. Grandpa and I had a special relationship. For reasons I still don’t understand, my parents allowed me to visit him without being supervised.
It was on one of those visits, at the tender age of 4, that I first encountered pornography.
The World Has Warped How We See Women
On the wall of Grandpa’s office, along with many other photos and drawings of naked women, hung the first Playboy centerfold. It featured Marilyn Monroe and was taken from the first edition of Playboy, published in 1953. That day, when I was only 4, one of the men I loved best taught me that women were merely objects for pleasure.
The women in those pictures were not equal to men. They existed only for our gratification. That is what my grandfather taught me, and that is what the world around me reinforced. It would take me half a lifetime to unlearn those pornographically induced lessons that created superficial connections and painful relationships with women.
God Has Called Us to Better Things
I share this story because no matter where you are on your journey to becoming a mature and godly man, I have most likely been there. I am grateful to have found the way out and to have found the path to becoming a real man of God.
In searching for that path, I have discovered a verse in the Bible that provides a lifetime of wisdom from God and protection from Satan’s lies. If you accept Christ as your Savior, then follow this verse. You will have an extremely good chance of living a life of virtue as a godly man who loves God and others well.
This verse is 2 Timothy 2:22: “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts” (NLT).
Porn Is Only Part of the Problem
If the latest statistics are true, and I believe they are, over 60% of Christian men are struggling with pornography. A Christian man should not look at pornography, of course, but stopping, while a good start, is not enough. This is about more than just pornography. It is about running from anything that stirs up lust or anything that could be said to “energize” lust and desire within you. That includes your best friend’s wife, the female down the hall you try to connect with “un-accidentally” every day, or a movie, or anything else that you would not want your wife, girlfriend, mother, daughter, or son to see you watch.
Stopping is a good first step, but it is far from enough. Stopping does not produce virtue in a man. You have to run from inappropriate images and connections and pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. When you pursue those things you are going after the pure gold of character and virtue. Pursuing “fool’s gold,” or the things, that arouse your lust, may look very appealing, but these are things Satan will use to make a total fool out of you.
The Key to Winning the Battle
Pursuing godliness means going after God’s standard, which means not only doing better than you used to or doing really great, but living the life of holiness God has called you and me to live. If you have ever tried living out of and into this standard of holiness, you know it is impossible to do alone. It is a never-ending battle, and winning it takes brothers who will come alongside you as fellow strugglers. You need the companionship of pure-hearted men who are in pursuit of our Lord and in pursuit of fulfilling Christ’s directive to love others well.
This is one of the biggest reasons why Promise Keepers and the opportunity it provides to build relationships with other godly men is so important. My prayer for you is that you will use the wisdom and direction of this powerful verse to cultivate a life of virtue that honors God, yourself and all those who are counting on you to do the right thing.
Stephen Arterburn is the founder and chairman of New Life Ministries and host of the #1 nationally syndicated Christian counseling talk show, New Life Live! He is also a keynote speaker at Promise Keepers’ 2020 men’s conference. A well-known public speaker, Stephen is also a bestselling author of many books, including Every Man’s Battle. Stephen and his family live in Carmel, Indiana, where he serves as teaching pastor of Northview Church. We’re excited that Stephen will be a platform speaker at Promise Keepers’ 2020 Conference. Need help? Call 800-NEWLIFE.
Author’s note: Since this article was originally published, authorities have increased their concern and the author agrees that our vigilance in preventing the spread of COVID-19 should appropriately increase as well. The heightened concern, however, only makes the truths below more important. Respect for others who are more susceptible to illness (including the elderly and immune-deficient) should cause us to operate with prudence and compassionate care, all the while modeling the strength and hope characteristic of those who know Christ (Prov. 24:10). Christ followers should also model compassion for those who choose to respond differently or react more strongly to circumstances and events (Prov. 18:2). Be gracious toward others. Continue to lead and minister in ways that express your God-given gifts. Recognize there is some subjectivity in responding to this crisis, even among those listening to and seeking God’s wisdom. Because Christians are citizens of heaven, filled with the strength and peace of Christ, we should be the best citizens on earth. I pray the principles below will help you do that.
With the increasing coronavirus cases outside of China, many believers across the United States wonder how to respond to the increasing alarm. What would God have us do in the face of a growing international health crisis? Should our churches close their doors for fear of spreading illness? Should I take my kids out of school? Cancel travel plans?
How should we help a panicked world?
Remember What We Know
First, it’s important to be reminded about what we already know. Worry is not our friend, and panic is not our way. Solomon reminds us, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Prov. 24:10). May it never be said that God’s people are governed more by fear than faith.
Corrie ten Boom, along with other faithful from among the nations, led courageously in the face of the Nazi fascism—a different form of deadly virus. And she reminds us, “Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows, it empties today of its strength.”
In times of crisis, the world needs steady people who are strengthened by God’s grace and selfless by God’s power. Worry accomplishes nothing except weakness of heart and head. It’s been said that 90 percent of the things we worry or become panicked about never happen, and the other 10 percent are outside our control.
While we remain on alert against viruses of doctrine or disease, worrying won’t change our circumstances or lower our chance of infection. It won’t help us fight off illness or move us to action. Worrying about COVID-19 (or anything else) will only increase trouble. Rather than worrying and being anxious, Jesus calls us to respond with prayer and faith in him (Matt. 6:33–34; Phil. 4:6). We need not worry ultimately because we know the One who has defeated sin and death (1 Cor. 15:55–57).
Remind yourself continually: it takes the same amount of energy to worry as to pray. One leads to peace, the other to panic. Choose wisely.
Love Well and Trust Him
If God calls us to worry about anything, it’s how to love people well. The psalmist encourages us, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness” (Ps. 37:3). Peter reminds us to press on in the midst of every evil. Whether persecutions or pandemics, we can trust in the Lord, knowing, “It is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (1 Pet. 3:17).
Worry is common to man. But God has called us to face troubles and threats with courage, leaning our weight on him.
Throughout history, Christians have often stood out because they were willing to help the sick even during plagues, pandemics, and persecutions. They loved people and weren’t afraid of death because they understood that “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21). By stepping into the mess of sickness and disease, they were able to demonstrate their faith to a watching world. So, rather than just asking “How do I stay healthy?” perhaps we should be also ask “How can I help the sick?” Let’s be quick to help and slow to hide in basements.
Prayer-infused confidence, compassion, and selflessness should mark how we talk about the coronavirus. Why? Because our Savior put on flesh (John 1:14) and stepped into our sickness, sin, and death. He healed the sick and cared for the hurting. We must do likewise.
We Can Be Careful, Too
None of this means we should be reckless. Neither Christ’s love nor God’s Word encourages careless risks, but both promote obedience. Loving the sick doesn’t mean we intentionally infect ourselves (Prov. 22:3). If infection becomes a legitimate risk (at the moment, the Center for Disease Control says the virus isn’t communally spreading in the United States, and the health risk is low), responding to the coronavirus likely means taking small practical steps like washing our hands and staying home if we’re sick.
Before you think of canceling church services, ask, “How can we care for those at risk?” As others get sick, care for them. Are most of you still healthy? That’s a great reason to gather for thanksgiving and prayer. Seek appropriate medical care as symptoms arise and don’t forsake caring for one another.
Follow the example of those who’ve acted faithfully in the past. In 19th-century England, when thousands were dying of cholera, Charles Spurgeon visited homes to care for people. The church of Jesus in Wuhan China, the virus’s epicenter, is faithfully leading even today.
Finally, as you watch the world react to this crisis—itself a stark reminder of our mortality—don’t neglect to share the hope you have in Jesus (1 Pet. 3:15). Share how he rescued you from the universal epidemic of sin and the penalty of death. Share that your hope is not found in remaining healthy this side of heaven.
We’ll all face death eventually. Thanks to Jesus, we can come to that day with confidence. Like Paul, we can remember that to live is Christ, but to die is gain (Phil. 1:21). We truly have nothing ultimate to fear—not from the coronavirus, the Ebola virus, natural disasters, or anything else.
Press on, friends. Pray for the sick. Walk in God’s strength. Love the brotherhood. Do good to all men. Use your health to serve, not to hide. Jesus is sovereign over it all. And we are immortal until God’s work for us to do is finished.
I am often asked by white congregants if the church is moving toward unity and oneness in Christ Jesus, and if [my denomination’s] convention (SBTC) has moved positively toward the “Look Like Heaven” emphasis. What is the reason for the emphasis on the black church and black worship in the month of February?
First, black worship is connected with black life and it is characterized by a religious sense inseparable from the suffering that determined it. When black people gather together for worship and praise to God, it is not because they have made a decision about the theological merits of Luther’s 95 Theses or of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion.
Second, black worship has been wrought out of the experience of slavery, lynching, ghettos and police brutality. As my deceased father would preach speaking in terms of our pain, “… we have been ‘buked and scorned” and “talked about–sho’s you borned.” In worship, we try to say something about ourselves other than what has been said about us in society. Through sermons, prayers and songs,we have transcended societal humiliation and degradation to explore heavenly mysteries about starry crowns, long white robes and gospel shoes on golden streets.
For us, the church has been the citadel of hope–a sanctuary of peace. Whereas the church has been the only place where we could go with tears in our eyes without anyone asking, “What are you crying about?” We preach, shout and sing the songs of Zion according to the rhythm of the pain and the joy of life WITHOUT being subjected to the dehumanizing observations of intellectuals such as sociologists, psychologists and theologians.
In worship we can be who we are as defined by our struggle rather than be defined by modern society. Furthermore, our gathering for worship has been dictated by a historical and theological necessity that is related to the dialectic of oppression, and our attempt to liberate ourselves from it—for which we would have no reason to sing, “How I go over, my soul looks back and wonders how I got over …”
Third, black worship was born in slavery on slave ships and nurtured in the cotton fields of Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Georgia and Mississippi. It was birthed out of the struggle of black slaves seeking to define their humanity according to their anticipated freedom, and not according to slavery. For slaves, there was present the divine dower of “D Lawd,” who was greater than the white structures that enslaved them. When black slaves were tempted to give up in despair, this power (D Lawd) gave them hope that slavery would soon come to an end.
The source which black people used for explaining this power was the Holy Scripture as interpreted by our African heritage and our desire for freedom. Black worship is biblical! One of the most amazing facts of history is that many black slaves could not read, but their hermeneutics was not derived from an intellectual encounter with the text, but from a gift of the Holy Spirit.
Because slaves were able to make a radical epistemological distinction between the gospel of Jesus and the religion of the whites, the slaves came to a different theological conclusion about God. When African slaves heard of the Old Testament story of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, they identified themselves with the Hebrews and their white slaves masters as the Egyptians—and for them noexegesis could change that. It is this theological certainty that enabled them to sing, “… Oh Mary, don’t you weep, oh Martha don’t you moan, Pharaoh’s army got drownded in the Red Sea; Oh Mary, don’t you weep, oh Martha don’t you moan.”
Therefore, the theme of God as the liberator is found throughout the history of black religion. The theological conviction that the God of the Bible is the liberator of the poor and the downtrodden was and is the mindset of black people even today. For us as black people, God is a mighty God, our heartfixer, our mind regulator. In our worship he is known by the presence of his divine Spirit with us, giving us not only a vision that society must be transformed, but also giving us the power and courage to participate in that transformation.
Finally, black worship is a series of recitals of what God has done to bring his people out of hurt, harm and danger. In black worship, God is that divine miracle who enables his people to survive amid wretched conditions. In black worship, God is holy, personal and all-powerful. Our understanding of that fact is what drives us to sing, shout and preach, “He walks with me and talks with me and tells me that I am his own.” In black worship, God is everything we need in order to triumph over terrible circumstances.
But wait! You cannot leave out Jesus of black worship! In the black church, Jesus is known for his identification with the poor—and there is NO distinction in essence between God and Jesus. Jesus is our constant companion, the one who walks with his people. He is the oppressed one who experiences the brokenness of humanity.
Now that you have a better insight and meaning of the black church worship experience, my dear beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, I invite you for one Sunday in the month of February to go worship with your local SBTC black church and experience our unique heritage of praising our Lord!
This article first appeared in the Southern Baptist Texan. The author, Pastor Donald G. Burgs, Jr., is the president of the SBTC African-American Fellowship and serves as senior pastor of Alief and Tabernacle Baptist Churches.
3X – The number of men aged 25-54 who no longer work has almost tripled since 1950.
68% – The percentage of Christian men who view pornography regularly.
Ages 11-17 – The ages of boys who are reported as being pornography’s greatest users.
1 in 4 – 19.7 million children–more than 1 in 4–live without a father in the home.
79% –The vast majority of suicides–79%–are male.
9 in 10 – 93% of individuals incarcerated – more than 9 in 10 – are men. 85% of them have no father figure.
Our nation is in crisis because men have lost sight of their God-given responsibilities. That’s why we’re building on the past to reignite a new movement of Promise Keepers.
You can help encourage other men to stand strong in the faith. Together, we can change the future.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 ESV
More than ever, America needs a revival of godly men. Our nation faces problems that can only be overcome when men of integrity — promise- keeping men — fulfill their destinies as godly husbands, fathers, and leaders. That’s why we’re calling on men everywhere—all of us—to fall on our faces in repentance for past failures, then boldly rise up and STAND STRONG as the men God intended us to be.
Join us July 31-August 1, 2020, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Just like the iconic Promise Keepers conferences of previous years, we’re going to shake the foundations as we worship together. We’re going to drink deeply from the Word of God. And we’re going to return home as changed men. Through Fire Teams—small groups of men in each church linked by a smartphone app —we’re going to stay connected like never before. Together we will bless our families, strengthen our churches, and transform our communities.
We cannot become successful followers of Jesus until we understand that we have an enemy who works tirelessly to turn us back to our sinful nature.
Scripture has quite a bit to say about Satan, yet most Christians are ignorant about him. God has written some adamant warnings about our enemy, and we need to heed them carefully. Many Christians are under constant attack by him but have no idea of the battle they’re in. They think their lack of joy, broken relationships, and failures in life originate with them, when in reality their troubles are because they are following the voice of the enemy of their souls but are completely unaware of it.
Satan is a liar and murderer. This part of him comes from his true nature, which, according to the Bible, consists of arrogance, vanity, envy, and selfish ambition. When we act in such a manner, we align ourselves with Satan as enemies of God. This is why the mark of a child of God is humility and absolute surrender to our Lord.
Paul got to the essence of this idea in Philippians 2:3, where he wrote, “Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.”
What Does Satan Want?
Satan hates God with all of his being. God is perfect and untouchable…but we aren’t. So Satan goes after God’s children – you and me. He gets us to hurt one another and turn our backs on our Father.
Why do we let this happen? Satan is crafty. He disguises his hatred and pretends to be our Father’s friend at first. Once we let him into our lives, we start to hear subtle whispers that appeal to our egos:
Why did your Father give your sister that gift instead of you?
Look at your brother. He always has to get all the attention. Your brother likes art, and everyone tells him he’s so good at it! I think art is disgusting and offends God, don’t you?
Look at your sister studying science. Everyone knows that your God disagrees with science…You should say something about this to your brothers and sisters. She shouldn’t be allowed to come around.
The lies start to get more specific as Satan becomes entrenched in our lives, because hatred can’t really take root without self-loathing.
You’re so ugly. Look at how your sister looks down on you.
Your brother is smart, and you’re stupid. He thinks he’s better than you.
You’ll feel better if you drink this or snort that.
And finally: Why do you go on living? No one likes you anyway. At least if you were dead, they’d appreciate you. They’d feel bad for how they’d treated you.
The Good News
God has already defeated Satan! Sometimes we get this idea, probably from other religions, of an equal duel between good and evil happening in the heavens. This is not the case. Satan was defeated and cast out! The only duel now is for your heart and mine. Satan can’t touch God, so he attacks His children. And he does this by exploiting our sinful nature. He does it by appealing to the pride in each of us.
With the Fall, sin became our nature and four great separations occurred, according to Genesis 3:
Peoplebecame hostile to one another. Adam blamed Eve.
People became hostile to nature. Nature became cursed and became a source of labor for him.
People became hostile to themselves. Adam felt shame and hid from God.
People became hostile to God. When God asked him what had happened, Adam blamed God, saying, “The woman You gave me did it.”
It’s no surprise, then, that Satan exploits these separations. He seeks to push our flesh in its natural direction, toward hatred of one another, nature, ourselves, and God. As James wrote, “If you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t brag and deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic” (3:14–15). The Spirit of God unifies and makes peace, while Satan divides. When we create unity among others, even at the expense of our own ambition, when we authentically build others up, and when we serve, we display the Spirit of God. When we gossip, slander, act out of jealousy, and create division, we show that we’re following the voice of Satan, acting as enemies of our Savior and Creator.
What does Satan want? He wants to hurt God by separating Him from His children and by separating His children from one another.
How Can We Tell When Satan Is at Work?
Satan can perform miracles and cause people to do so (2 Thessalonians 2:9–10; Revelation 13:13–14). Many Christians have been led astray by false teachers who have performed great signs. How do we tell the difference?
When the Spirit of God is at work, all the glory goes to Jesus. When Satan is at work, the glory goes to people.
The Spirit of God always brings peace. Satan always brings stress and anxiousness.
The Spirit of God always brings unity and equality. Satan seeks to divide and elevate some people over others.
The Spirit of God always brings clarity. Satan brings complication and confusion. “How can we really understand what truth is?” ask his servants. It’s the same lie he told Eve at the beginning. “Did God really say…” (Genesis 3:1). Yes, He did.
When the church is divided, the cause is often false leaders in the church who, out of ignorance, laziness, or greed, complicate the gospel, adding some form of works, tradition, or hierarchy. This allows one group of people to elevate themselves over another, selling out the free gospel of Jesus and controlling others. Jesus is not unaware of their schemes.
Believers who are walking in obedience to God’s Word have nothing to fear because they are protected by Christ. “He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves” (Colossians 1:13). However, when we knowingly commit sin, we open ourselves up to Satan’s deception.
We must exercise patience with those who are not walking with Christ, because their minds are blinded. “Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of the truth. Then they may come to their senses and escape the Devil’s trap, having been captured by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:25–26).
To those who have the truth, the arguments of unbelievers are senseless, but we mustn’t condemn them or curse them but pray for them. Only prayer and patience will unlock the minds of unbelievers so they can see the truth.
How Do We Fight Him?
As we will see time and again, Scripture calls us to be in a fight. The first call is to fight against Satan.
Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. (Ephesians 6:11–13)
Satan is a liar. His power comes through appealing to our pride and our flesh. If we’re surrendered to God, Satan has no hold on us because our lives will be shielded by the armor of God. We want to know who he is and what his schemes are so that we can recognize when he is deceiving us or others. We too often engage the lie rather than the liar.
Life according to the flesh, which is under perpetual harassment by Satan and his lies, always brings pride, discord, and division. Life according to the Spirit always brings humility, peace, and unity. Satan uses the same tactics he did thousands of years ago because they have always worked. He moves among us, appealing to our pride. These are still his main temptations to God’s people.
Now we see the immense responsibility that God has given to each of us. We must humble ourselves so that we can fight. Once we know what is wrong with us and who our enemy is, we are ready to become the people God has called us to be.
Ken Harrison is CEO and chairman of Promise Keepers. Today, Promise Keepers is calling men back to bold servant leadership as change makers for their families, churches and communities. Harrison is also CEO of WaterStone, a Christian Community Foundation that oversees donations of millions of dollars a month to build God’s kingdom. After starting his career as an LAPD street cop in South Central, he spent nearly two decades in commercial real estate. Married and the father of three, Harrison has a new book, “The Rise of the Servant Kings: What the Bible Says About Being a Man.”
Humility is clear eyesight. It is the ability to see things as they really are. A successful follower of Christ is humble. He places the needs of those in his care above his own. He doesn’t get his identity from what he has accomplished. He gets it from God.
Our flesh and our old nature see through a lens of self. We perceive things based on how they affect us. Pride distorts how we see the world. It causes our identity to be based on our accomplishments or lack thereof.
The thicker our lens of self — our pride — the less we see things as God sees them, which is how they really are. This is evident in the musings of a crazy person. As G. K. Chesterton described in Orthodoxy, a madman looks at himself as the center of all things. If he were to recognize that no one actually is focused on him, he would be infinitely happier because his world would suddenly become infinitely bigger.
Pride shrinks the universe to a tiny world in which we are the god. As we die to self, we are able to see the world more clearly, as larger and more wonderful than we can comprehend. Pride is a miserable state because we don’t really inflate ourselves or our value. Instead, we shrink the universe to meet our limited imaginations.
Because we are fallen and therefore see things through our pride, we have difficulty judging ourselves properly. The more wicked people are, the higher their opinion of themselves tends to be. In order to properly judge ourselves, we must look at things from outside our own perspective. The way we react to things tells us where we are in our walk with Christ.
The insignificant things of daily life are the things that show us who we are. They show what spirit possesses us. It is our most unguarded moments that show us whether we walk in the Spirit or in the flesh. How do you react when you’re tired, hungry, cold, irritated, or stressed? Here we see what Jesus meant when He said, “Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much” (Luke 16:10).
People often mistake confidence for pride. Actually, the most confident people are usually the humblest, such as the great saints Abraham, David, Joseph, Paul, and Apollos. The Bible calls Moses, who led an entire nation out of slavery, the humblest man on earth (Numbers 12:3).
Let’s look at some aspects of a humble person. Search your heart. Do these characteristics look like you?
■ No longer compares himself with others.
■ Seeks no recognition for self.
■ Sees every person equally as a child of God and honors him or her as such.
■ Enjoys hearing others praised, even if he is forgotten.
■ Forgives.
■ Lives a life marked by patience.
■ Relationships are known for peace and unity.
■ Constantly encourages others.
We see humility as a virtue, but it is really the symptom of something else — the Holy Spirit reigning in a person as self has become less. The holiest is always the humblest.
Pride doesn’t always show up as arrogance. It can appear as self-loathing, shyness, obsession with guilt, or anger. This is because pride always comes from a focus on self.
I once confronted a Christian who was living in sin, and he yelled at me, “Don’t you think I feel bad about it?” I asked him what his feelings had to do with anything. Pride thinks that feeling guilty is some sort of penance. Guilt without repentance disregards those whom your sin has hurt. It is just a continued focus on self, simply flipping from arrogance to self-loathing. It’s all self.
Humility grows as our Lord is revealed to us. As we come to know the Savior and look up into His face, we become more aware of our own depravity. Not in a self-deprecating way, but with the gratitude of a child who realizes that he is completely dependent on God and that God loves him and has promised to never leave or forsake him (Deuteronomy 31:6; Hebrews 13:5).
Ken Harrison is CEO and chairman of Promise Keepers. Today, Promise Keepers is calling men back to bold servant leadership as change makers for their families, churches and communities. Harrison is also CEO of WaterStone, a Christian Community Foundation that oversees donations of millions of dollars a month to build God’s kingdom. After starting his career as an LAPD street cop in South Central, he spent nearly two decades in commercial real estate. Married and the father of three, Harrison has a new book, “The Rise of the Servant Kings: What the Bible Says About Being a Man.”