Jedi Mind Tricks
Perhaps you are familiar with the Star Wars concept of the “Jedi.” These were a peace-keeping force that worked for the Galactic Republic. They utilized the Force in order to fight against the “dark side,” embodied in the Sith. The Jedi could even compel some sentient beings to change their minds, if they had weak minds, by the power of suggestion, using the Force. These were called “Jedi mind tricks.”
In a rather humorous, and vain, attempt at a “Jedi mind trick,” a young man in Nebraska tried to get away with illegal marijuana. He was stopped at a traffic light in a routine stop by police officers. They became suspicious of his behavior and searched the car, finding a 16-ounce plastic tub of sour cream. What gave the officers reason to suspect there was something else in the container besides sour cream was the hand-written note scribbled on top: “Not Weed.” There was 11.4 grams of “weed” inside. His “Jedi mind trick” did not work.
The devil tries these “jedi mind tricks” on us all the time. In the words of Isaiah, the prophet, Satan calls “evil good and good evil” (Isa. 5:20). Satan appeals to our vanity, he appeals to our flesh, he appeals to our misguided values. He gets us to think things are good, right, and wholesome, all the while leading us away from God and His word.
Satan tried that with Jesus in the temptations in the wilderness. “’If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’” (Matt. 4:6).
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But the way to fight against Satan’s “mind tricks,” is to keep your feet firmly planted in the word of God. The sum of God’s word is truth (Psalm 119:160) so you can’t take one or a few passages and teach those passages as all that God speaks on a certain topic. That’s how Satan misuses and abuses Scripture. Jesus, in His response to Satan, teaches us that we need to take all that God’s word has to say on a subject so we can know all that God has to say about a subject.
Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:16 and shows that Satan was misapplying Psalms 91:11-12. It is true that you should trust God. But it is also true that you should not tempt God by forcing Him into a position of obeying your commands. You cannot tempt the Lord your God.
Satan regularly and consistently uses his mind tricks on us. The only way we can respond is to be very familiar, as Jesus was, with God’s mind. When we do that, we will be prepared.
–Paul Holland
