Don’t Tread on Me

“Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” – Romans 1:25

Don’t tread on me.  The sticker was boldly position on the back window of a Chevy 4X4, challenging everyone to take notice.  The image of a rattlesnake bowed up and in striking position.  Bold, brash, and defiant.  The snake, ready to take on anyone or anything that would threaten him.  A symbol of self-preservation, the embodiment of rebellion.      

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  He made light, earth, fish, the sun, the moon, the stars; beasts, the fowls of the air, and finally mankind.  We were created by the Creator and placed in the Garden of Eden.  We were given stewardship of the Creator’s creation.  The serpent, the devil himself, came in and deceived mankind with a lie.  That we will be as gods.  The fall of man was marked with a curse.  Adam was cursed to till the ground. Eve was cursed in child bearing and her desire would be to her husband.  The serpent was cursed to crawl on his belly and enmity was placed between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.  The seed of the serpent would bruise her seed’s heel, but the seed of the woman will bruise the serpent’s head.  Before the fall, everything existed in harmony: the creature, creation, and the Creator were all one.  There was no enmity, only unity, fellowship, and peace.  After the fall there was enmity.  The carnal seed birthed from the loins of the serpent was sown deep within the heart of mankind forever at war with the longing for righteousness that remained within the humanity of mankind.  A desire within the creature to once again be in harmony with the Creator.  This is why Paul writes when I would do good evil was present within me.  A struggle exists, between a constitution of morality that remains within man, and a defiant nature of carnality that ultimately rules man; until Christ comes.  The Christ, the Son of the Living God; he walked on Earth as the instrument to restore what was lost.  Christ’s death, burial and resurrection destroyed the power of the devil, treading down the old serpent, stomping him to death.  He then ascending into heaven and gave the gift of the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost, Jesus’s second coming, within the heart of a forgiven person, bringing victory over carnality and renewal to the harmony between creation and Creator.  Thereby removing the rebellion within.  The serpent has always, and will always promote the creature over the Creator.  That was the first lie and the only lie; told over and over again.  Dressed up in a million different ways, over thousands of years; the end result always self over selflessness, me over Christ, sin over righteousness.  The same lie remains: we can be gods, and rule ourselves.  This lie is so propagated throughout society that we have gone so far as to maintain that God did not even create us; rather that we are evolved, and we believe it so completely that we are willing to teach it to our children.  Open rebellion.  Don’t tread on me.   

When you live without Jesus in your heart you are living in the “don’t tread on me” mindset.  Bold, brash, and defiant.  It is worshiping and serving the creature more than the Creator.  The tragedy is this.  God has something better prepared for his creation.  He desires full fellowship with us.  Jesus Christ tasted death, so that we might have life once again.  He brought salvation down to a personal level.  The ultimate instrument of redemption to whosoever will.  Obedience to the Creator brings far more peace and liberty than trying to serve the creature.