In Ephesians 2:2, Paul talks about “the children of disobedience.” This verse introduces a discussion of the classification God makes of responsible individuals. God classifies each one of us in one of two categories: people who belong to the world and those who are members of the church.

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The term “children of disobedience” identifies people in the world. They live according to “the prince of the power of the air,” a terminology referring to the devil. In other words, they live under the influence and the rule of the devil – what he tells them to do is what they do. They are to the devil like puppets and he pulls on the strings.

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Also, they live according to a certain “spirit,” that is the dominant thoughts of the age in which they live. Our era, the 21st century, has been characterized by such thoughts as the claim that a man or a woman can lust after his or her own gender (a man with a man and woman with a woman). That was the trend back in the first century too (Romans 1:26-27). Indeed, “there is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).

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While the world pledges allegiance to Satan, Christians submit to the authority of Christ (Colossians 3:17) and do not conform to the world (Romans 12:2). Worldly people think carnally, but Christians focus on spiritual things (Romans 8:5-9). This is the fundamental difference between the two classes of people.

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Constant Coulibaly