Pastor Elwin Ahu
February 9, 2003 - W0306

We all have something through which we view our world: a ìbelief window.î Everything we see and all the information we absorb is filtered through this belief window. What do you believe? For what you believe, you will see. Or, as Jesus said, ìAs is your faith, so shall it be done unto youî (Mt. 9:29).

When we form opinions, we then determine whatever is seen through that window. And whatever we think we see, is how we begin to act towards that object. Therefore, what is important is our perception of what we are seeing. For instance, when someone constantly tells you that youíre ugly, youíre likely to believe it. That comment will then effect your behavior because your belief window distorted your perception of yourself. Youíll begin to believe that youíre ugly and then act accordingly, perhaps dressing a certain way and not being as outgoing with others. What we end up with is a very distorted sense of our reality because we allowed someone to carve a lie onto our belief window, and thatís all we ever see anymore.

Believe it or not, we do the same with God, where He is viewed and filtered through our own belief windows. How we respond to Him is based on our perception of Him. And a lot of times what happens is we tend to shape Him instead of allowing Him to shape us. We shape God into an image based on our own ìbelief window.î We then fashion a new set of rules to live by from a ìdesigner godî that we created by our own desires and wants.

Q1: What does your belief window say about God? Is it distorting your perception of God? Briefly explain.

What we may not realize is that the devil knows about this weakness of ours. He knows that we form decisions based upon our perspectives, so he tries to distort our perception of God. Heíll take us away from Godís Word and lead us to another kind of god.

In fact, itís the oldest trick in the book; he did it to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Watch how he tempted her with the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge: ìNow the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ëIndeed, has God said, ìYou shall not eat from any tree of the gardenî?íî (Gen. 3:1).

From the very beginning, the devil began raising questions to try to change our perspective of Godís Word. We then become unteachable and unaccountable to the only true God because weíve formed our own little ìdesigner godsî to rule our lives. Here are some warning signs to look out for so that we avoid the same consequences that Adam and Eve experienced.

ìDESIGNER GODSî WILL:

1.     OBSCURE GODíS WORD.

Designer gods will take Godís Word and muddy the true meaning, Godís original intent. Even though Godís commands are clear and simple, we allow these designer gods to fog our belief windows: ìAnd the woman said to the serpent, ëFrom the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ìYou shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.îí And the serpent said to the woman, ëYou surely shall not die!íî (Gen. 3:2-4)

The devil gave Eve a false sense of security, tricking her to trust her own logic and not Godís command. She was convinced that Godís Word was something that she could doubt, when really it is infallible. When we fall for this trap, it becomes a tug-of-war of good and bad intentions. We know what we should do, but we donít feel like doing it. A good example of this is when you get a speeding ticket and your defense in court is that everyone else was speeding. Let me tell you, as a former judge, that is not a good defense! Following the speed limit is a very clear and simple law, but we ignore it all the time.

The same is true of Godís lawsóthey are clear and simple. Yet the fact is many of us choose to ignore it on the basis that ìeveryone else is doing itî or ìit feels good.î Thatís not a good defense! When we live by our feelings rather then by Godís Word, we begin to develop designer gods of compromise and rationalization. We begin to find excuses, which honor and express devotion to these other gods and the devil rejoices in that. 

Q2: What areas in your life have you compromised because you allowed ìlesser godsî of your feelings take control? 

One way to get rid of this designer god from our lives is to: 

?        Seek the truth; not whatís true.

Whatís ìtrueî are the things we perceive from our circumstances. Itís what weíve written on our belief window. Whatís ìtruthî is what God sees from His perspective. Itís what He has written on our belief window. The same set of circumstances, but a different perspective altogether.

It may be true that your life is a big ball of failures because of bad choices, but what God sees is a new creation. Godís truth is the passing of the old so that the new things can enter into your life. Weíve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but God is righteous and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. ìThe sum of Thy word is truth, and every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlastingÖThose who love Thy law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumbleî (Ps. 119:160,165). 

Q3: Do you find yourself seeking truth or only what is true? Give an example.

Itís a whole new ballgame when we live our lives by the truth. Living our lives by Godís truth is eternal. But it takes discipline on our part to erase what is ìtrueî from our belief windows and begin to look at life through the eyes of God. One way to discipline ourselves to do this is by doing your daily devotions. Donít just flip through it and skim, purposefully look for Godís heart, spirit, and personality so that you can build character for eternal purposes.

Another way to live by the truth is to ask yourself a simple question whenever making any decision. Ask yourself, ìWill this decision enhance my relationship with God and with others?î Use that question when youíre thinking of making a job change or when your boyfriend or girlfriend wants more intimacy in the relationship. It will keep you from compromising and worshipping any designer gods. 

Q4:      What are some ways to seek Godís Truth?

The second warning sign of a designer god sneaking into your life is that designer gods will:

2.     INVALIDATE GODíS DESIGN. 

Designer gods do their best to shatter Godís design in you. The Bible states that we were made perfect in His eyes even before we were born. However, designer gods try to write why we are not good onto our belief window. When we allow that, we fill up with a sense of unworthiness and insecurity. We even allow othersí opinions to negatively affect our self-worth! This invalidates Godís original design in us.

The snake made Eve insecure in herself and with God. He told her that she could be so much more if she would only eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge: ìFor God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evilî (Gen. 3:5). God created Eve to be Adamís companion and helper. She didnít need to know evil because she was in the presence of God. But the devil put graffiti on her belief window, tricking her into thinking she did need to know. And heíll do the same to your window, with insecurities to invalidate what God originally designed us to be.

We all want to feel good and have others think highly of us. But when we fail to live up to their expectations we honor the god of insecurity. Maybe your work evaluation says your performance level is less than satisfactory. Or people make fun of your weight. When we allow othersí comments to effect us, we lower ourselves to a different creation then God designed us to be. 

Q5: Has anyone made you feel insecure? Or have you ever made someone else feel insecure? Give an example.

One way to destroy this god of insecurity is to: 

?        Believe in who you are.

This is a truth that you need to etch into your belief window: Believe in who you are! God made us exactly who He wants us to be and we are all perfectly made in His eyes: ìYou made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my motherís womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelousÖî (Ps. 139:13-14 NLT). 

Everyone plays different roles in life, but donít confuse your roles with your person. Donít confuse your performance with the person God wants you to be. At different times, you could be a mother, a friend, and a teacher, but always put Godís image of you first. Believe in that perfect image. If you had to rate yourself as a person from 1 to 10, how would you rate yourself?

If you rated yourself anywhere less than a 10, then you will never live up to the potential of being anything more. God only makes 10s! He did not make anyone to be a 2, 5, or 8. We are all 10s in His eyes. We may not feel or act like it, but itís still Godís truth that weíre a 10 no matter who you are or what you do. A good phrase to say to yourself as a reminder is: ìI am a 10. I am perfectly made in the eyes of God.î Etch that in your window so that itís always with you. 

Q6: How do you feel after saying the phrase, ìI am a 10. I am perfectly made in the eyes of Godî? Do you feel stronger, silly, the sameÖ how do you feel? Briefly explain.

The third warning sign of a designer god trying to reshape your perception is when you begin to: 

3.     EXPLOIT GODíS BLESSINGS.

This happens when you take what God has given you and use it for your own purposes instead of Godís purpose. The devil did that with Eve by causing her to misapply what God had given to her: ìThe woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, tooî (Gen. 3:6).

Even though Eve had everything she could ever want in the Garden of Eden, she was lead to believe that she was dissatisfied. She wanted to find something that delighted her eyes, an apple, so that she could pick it and use it for her own purposes. We do that all the time. When we see a car that delights our eyes, we convince ourselves to buy it even though we have two cars at home. We do that in relationships as well, where we go from relationship to relationship because it feels better to be with anyone then to be alone. Donít clutter up your ìbelief windowî with your wants and desires because it makes it harder to see Godís truth. 

Q7: Have you ever justified doing something even though you know itís not the best? Give an example.

 One way to defeat this designer god of dissatisfaction is to:

?        Develop an attitude of gratitude.

Be thankful for what you have and for things that you donít have. ìFor I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strengthî (Philip. 4:11-13). When you live your life according to Godís law and look through His perspective, you donít need anything else to rely upon. You can rely on Christ alone for your strength and your contentment.

Q8:      What are you grateful for?

Weíre indebted to volunteer Christy Itamoto for bringing us this superb summary!