Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:10-18)
" + ""High School Reunion," a reality TV show, demonstrates a truth about the world that even most Christians will acknowledge but then act as like it is not true. This truth is that there are social systems in place with slots waiting to be filled by the unsuspecting human slave. On the show, when the opening montage begins, people are shown with their titles under their names. One person is "The Jock," another person is "The Beauty Queen," and another person is "The Pregnant Girl." Every person has a role to play in high school, even though, at that time, they did not know it. In high schools around this country, someone was doing something like what was done in someone else's high school without even knowing the other person. Like a very good stage play, people play their roles in the drama as they are told to do. Everyone plays their role better than the best actor. Learning a part in a play is one thing—that deserves merit. Thinking that you are the role you are playing is something wholly different. But alas, this is the trap into which every one of us has fallen.
" + "As teenagers, in America, we are taught to resist peer pressure. We should resist peer pressure. Yet, no matter how much we thought we are being different, not being like the crowds, we were fitting in just fine. We, like the TV show mentioned above, fit into a role. I cannot say that it was specially made for us because it wasn't. The pressures of the system forced us into the role and we filled it. That's why everyone, regardless of where he or she is from, can speak to almost identical experiences. The systems one encountered pushed one into a way of being that matched someone else far away or even from another generation. Social systems, the broader category for this phenomenon, do not exist because all humans are the same. They exist because something beyond humans pressures them into becoming something they may not necessarily desire to become.
" + "The scripture above explains why this is so. It warns that Christians are to be strong fighting against the powers and principalities of this world. In other words, we are fighting against systems that force us into a machine of orderliness. There is an order which prescribes a role for everyone. Each of us ends up fulfilling this role as we are supposed to, in obedience to the powers that reign and rule over us. The problem is that the scripture (v12) tells us that these are the very things that we are fighting against. We are not fighting against the people. They are filling roles too. We are fighting against the makers of the system desiring to keep us in bondage. We are fighting against the spiritual forces attempting to keep us stuck in a spot. Why? Because there is no other greater worship a wiling, scheming, devil can receive than to know that you have chosen to obey him over your Creator, God Almighty. Filling a spot in his kingdom gives him worship regardless of what we think about it. He has out-planned us. We fit in even though we thought we were unique. It's quite ironic because the people who thought that they were being unique filled the role of the person trying to be unique. And worse, the unique minded individual ended up acting like someone else. The person who seeks to "self-express" ends up dressing and acting like someone else who is also attempting to do the same thing. For example all people within Goth culture hang out with each other, not necessarily in crowds of people who are not Goth. In some cases, the non-Goth people feel as uncomfortable as the non-Goth people feel. So they hang out in crowds of people who act and think the same as they do, how unique is that? Many of them set out to express themselves, to be different, but they went and got something that was being done by someone else, got involved into a culture that preceded them, and began playing the role the director meant for them to play in the first place.
" + "We Christians do not seem to understand that the Bible calls the devil "the god of this world" (2 Cor 4:4). His task is to pulverize us into submission into his will. He has to prove he is god by tempting us every day to obey his voice. He sends out his principalities and powers to continue complete this work on us. They constantly say, "be what you want to be," "live like you want to live," "say what you want to say." The deception is that they want us to think we are doing what we want. In actuality, we end up doing something they suggested we do. In truth, we are obeying them. We are fitting into this system just like the operator intended. By sinning, no matter how harmless we think the sin is, we are playing right into the hands of the enemy, being what we wanted us to be.
" + "God has something better for us. Obedience to God's word means that we stop thinking like individuals, since this concept is illusory—there are no individuals since attempting to be an individual places one in a group of people seeking individuality. When we obey the word of the Lord, we become what he has intended, which means that the signature that God has placed on us, his mark of uniqueness, comes to the forefront. We are only truly human beings, the people we were made to be, when we listen to our maker, when we fulfill our purpose in his kingdom. God has given us the power to resist the enemy. In the process, we stand out; the world can see us because we are not fitting in any longer. We become rebels to the god of this world who is a rebel to the Lord God Almighty. The question comes down to obedience. Who do we want to obey? Will it be God Almighty, the one who loves us and wants us to know him and be like him, who has our concerns at heart? Or, do we want to obey the devil who wishes to destroy us by making us like him? God Bless.
";