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Themes: Lies of the Devil R.D. One hundred thousand soldiers stood on the pavement like bristles on a brush. The men were in perfect formation. Their rifles hung by their sides in silence. Sunlight bounced off their helmets.
The people from the city and from the countryside stood on the sidelines.
All eyes were fixed on the lectern. The blast from the loudspeakers carried the voice of Adolf Hitler.
This was a familiar sight in Berlin, Germany. Hitler used mass rallies to attract followers. He spoke in a frenzy of emotion. His whole being shook with intensity as he threw his words into the microphone. The listeners were spellbound.
His words flowed smoothly but with great conviction. He fired up the patriotism of the soldiers with his own pride. He awakened the dreams of the young with his own excitement. He satisfied the worker with his own expectation. He comforted the old with his own confidence.
But Adolph Hitler was a master of lies. He told his closest followers that the bigger the lie, the easier it was for the people to believe it. He also said that if you repeat a lie often enough it eventually becomes the truth.
Hitler drew vivid pictures of glory for Germany. He promised the Germans that they would be the "lord of the earth". He painted himself into the picture as the only leader who could accomplish this dream. He was power hungry, and he fed the people with deceit in order to accomplish this goal. The people believed him.
His hatred for the Jews, (because he felt they were inferior) was contagious. He persuaded his followers to send millions of Jews to die in concentration camps. Thousands more, his own countrymen, and even close friends were executed if he detected any sign of doubt in their minds about him. And still they listened to him.
The statesmen of Europe were fooled by Hitler. He faked agreement and then ignored pacts and treaties of peace. World War II was a direct result of the outrageous demands of this one man. But World War II finished Hitler.
In the end, when the Russians were ready to take Berlin, Hitler could not guarantee life for himself, let alone the people of Germany. His self-proclaimed glory turned into suicide. The picture he had drawn is now only a memory of horror.
If you had lived in Germany in Hitler's time, would you have believed him? Would you have been deceived by his smooth words and stirring emotion? It's easy to look back in history and see the error of the people. It wasn't safe for the people in Hitler's day to trust their own judgment. It still isn't safe to trust your own judgment. It still isn't safe to trust in man or in self (Psalm 118:8).
The devil likes to use bright colors and paint your mind with lies, but the final stroke of the brush is the blackness of darkness forever. Don't believe the lies of the devil. You cannot trust him.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the only One in whom you can trust. He is the only One who desires the very best for you. He is the only One who can give you Eternal Life. It is safe to trust in Him (John 3:36).
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Peter Orasuk
