Conquest

The original lie of the serpent in the Garden of Eden was if you disobey God, you will be like him. This is the same lie we hear over and over and over again in our heads and in our culture: take matters into your own hands because that is true strength.

Wanting to be like God is not a bad thing in and of itself...we were created in His image after all. However, it is how we get there that leads us astray...

Saint Augustine said, "Conquer yourself and the world lies at your feet." Saint Paul exhorted, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24. It is by overthrowing our selfishness, by submitting to God's work in us, that we become like Him. It is a lifetime transformation which is culminated in heaven.