I mentioned The Matrix in Chapter One of my You Testament. I really wanted viewers to understand what shaped my reality, my influences: drugs, alcohol, sex, rebellion, poor choice in friendships, relationships, idolatry (false idols)
I was just a young, naive kid at one point and in one moment, I was deceived into a situation that would take my innocence and take me down more paths to deceive me, where I ate. Just like Eve in the garden. Just like my choice to take the Blue Pill.
Fundamentally, The Matrix is portraying a view of the universe we all currently live in, from the perspective of rebellion against God's system.
Morpheus: I see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, that's not far from the Truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?
Neo: No.
Morpheus: Why not?
Neo: Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.
Morpheus: I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Neo: The Matrix.
Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is?
Neo: Yes.
Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the Truth. 🤯 (now imagine if social media, your search history, YouTube, AI, ChatGPT were added in this script line, oh have times advanced)
Neo: What Truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind.
How did I escape this deception-filled Matrix? I cover this in Chapter Two of my You Testament. Stay tuned!
The Matrix brings me to a verse in the Bible
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
- Ephesians 6:12
Now what does that mean? It's pretty straightforward, it’s Spiritual Warfare. Oooh, I said it—and I meant it too. The theme of Spiritual Warfare is central to this verse. Paul the Apostle reminds believers that their struggle is not merely physical or earthly, but Spiritual. There is Spiritual Warfare going on all around us. Our battle is not against people, but it’s against evil, darkness, powers at be and deception. Think about it. Take this as the most common example: we watch something on social media and it can do many things to our Mind. It can either offended us, provoke a strong emotion, it can distract us, tempt us or cause us to hide things from our significant other, it can introduce us to new ideals and concepts with specific agendas. It's funny how our behavior and our innate nature causes us to respond or react a certain way when our eyes see something—who and what controls our thoughts, our thought patterns?
As humans, we have around 60,000 thoughts every single day. Of those, 90% are repetitive.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecomaford/2012/04/04/got-inner-peace-5-ways-to-get-it-now/
Wow! Crazy stat, right? I think about how many times our thoughts can deceive and fail us. My thoughts failed me, and everyday it is a practice for me to discern the truth, have good judgement and trust that God knows what's best for me. It brings me to when God provided to Moses a set of ethical and moral principles in The Old Testament. God created the 10 Commandments because He know we would need them, desperately and as a set of moral guidelines and principles for humanity. No one wants to be lied to, no one wants to be stolen from, no one wants to be murdered, or commit adultery. We have free-will to commit such things or not. God commanded these because He knew many times, through many generations we would fall and fail each other. And those just speak of the 10 Commandments but what about the choices in we make in today's world? How do our choices shape the world around us, impact the people around us, the future ahead of us?
We all have free-will, a choice. I know that I have a choice. God Himself is watching me and you right now, to see what choice we will make. The Bible tells you how you can be free from this world. But God still lets us struggle in it. I know that seems harsh but it’s necessary. Could we really make the choice, to turn to Jesus, and become restored and part of a new world that God had always intended for us?
To be restored with God, we must first detach spiritually from the fallen world.
Explore the profound question through a faith-based lens: Are we living in a Matrix of good and evil? How do perceptions of good and evil shape our reality and our relationship with God.
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