The Three Pillars Of Satan's Unholy Economy

The Bible speaks a lot about three particular forms of evil. I’m going to call them the three pillars of Satan’s unholy economy. I know that’s a mouthful, but my hope is that it makes complete sense once you’ve finished reading this blog.

Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Did you catch the trilogy of evil? The Bible very clearly lays out three key prohibitions for us:  idolatry, love of money, and sexual immorality. Each is a major theme in the Bible. Each represents an integral component of Satan’s antichrist economy, which is predicated on lies. “When [Satan] lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44b). Each pillar tempts us with empty promises meant to draw us away from our confidence in the Lord God.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
Experientially, the three aforementioned pillars are dynamically linked, never too distant in relation from one another. At any given time, at least two of them represent an intentional interplay which Satan uses to tempt mankind with. For example, sexual sins are very often an expression of idolatry (a person often lusts after their idols - think of Hollywood). Another example is that money can buy sex to satisfy fleshly desires (whether directly or indirectly). In the case of all three functioning in unison, idols are often those with the most money and apparently (according to the media, at least), “enjoying” the most sex.

Idolatry is the great evil (“You shall have no other gods before me.” - Exodus 20:3).

Money is the great enabler (“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” - 1 Timothy 6:10a).

Sexual immorality is the great perversion (“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” - Colossians 3:5).

The more I read my Bible, the more obvious the above statements become. I concede that one could argue for the inclusion of other forms of sin and evil; but, I truly hope you get what the Spirit’s trying to convey here. At the foundation of every imaginable temptation are these three pillars. As a result, there’s an entire functioning economy (some call it “the world system”) designed by Satan for the sole purpose of supplanting God’s holy economy.

Economies require two basic things:  a scale of values and currency. In God’s perfect economy in Heaven, “A just balance and scales are the LORD’s; all the weights in the bag are his work” (Proverbs 16:11) and grace (the expression of divine love) is the currency. There’s no sinning in Heaven because every sanctified creature is bound to His economy. However, as the Bible tells us, Satan broke that bond and subsequently corrupted the first two humans in the Garden of Eden with a lie, introducing a second economy to human existence, an evil one.

Do you remember what the lie entailed, exactly? Let me refresh your memory:

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
In other words, Satan’s temptation was for the first man and woman to reject God’s sovereignty and strive for equality with God. This is consistent with Satan’s own original sin, “I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). Here we have the first pillar, idolatry, beginning with making oneself an idol (a god). It’s been the driving force of all forms of evil ever since the original sin, hence the very first of The Ten Commandments we noted already in Exodus 20:3. Every sin we ever commit in this world can somehow be tied back to this one, the basic desire to defect from God’s sovereignty in favor of an idol.

A few hundred years ago, you could argue that the second pillar of the three in Satan’s unholy economy was money, based on the exposure children and even young teens received back then. However, with the proliferation of advanced communications technology, even pre-teens are exposed to sexual perversion. Immoral sexual behavior is everywhere, and it is not only acceptable by mainstream cultures, it is encouraged! People spend thousands of dollars per year to access Satan’s mouthpiece on the topic, the media, be it television programming, movies, or the latest sensation, the Internet.

It all begins with idolatry. Money affords a person greater access to and enjoyment of their idols. Since this endeavor remains unfulfilling, sex is added to the mix as an emotional crutch. People in this economy are miserable because they wallow in the futility of empty promises. The only thing that can set them free is the Truth.

I challenge you to ponder these pillars of Satan’s unholy economy whenever you read your Bible: idolatry, the love of money, and sexual sins. You will discover that the Bible is filled with warnings about them. The epistles to the church at Corinth stand out, for certain, but they are hardly the only proof points. Read the OT, God was constantly having to forgive the Jews of idolatry and just about every form of sexual sin imaginable, with money-loving never too far behind, if not in the lead. Go ahead, read your Bible and see if what I say is true! Then look around you...look at the world at large...look at what motivates it...you’ll see.

Once you're convinced I’m right, do the thing that matters most...look in the mirror. What say you of idolatry? Do you have any idols of your own (maybe the one staring back at you)? How about sex? The only godly form of sex in God’s eyes occurs in marriage. If you’re married, are you lusting after your idols? And, finally, what say you of your affection for wealth? Most of you are American, which means you’ve been born into wealth. Do you even understand what I just wrote? Maybe not. Do you give your first fruits to the Lord’s work, or is support of His ministry a distant second, third, or fourth, even? These are all fair questions we must ask ourselves in order to rightly confess to what degree (hint: it’s always greater than zero, so don’t lie to yourself) we are partaking in Satan’s economy. Do not be deceived, my friends.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.
Love in Christ,

Ed Collins