And no wonder, even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. II Corinthians 11:14
A good friend and I were talking the other night, and she was telling me about a broadcast made by Paul Harvey years ago. I googled it, and I must say it is right on target for today’s world! The name of it is, If I Were The Devil, and it’s well worth a listen.
When I was young, pictures of the devil were always floating around, and well meaning people sometimes used those pictures to frighten and scare others into fearing the evil represented. The picture was normally of a red guy with a goatee and horns, a pitchfork, a long tail, and a scowl on his face.
In later years, Flip Wilson made light of this image when he referenced the devil in his television show of the 70″s where his character, Geraldine, often remarked that “the devil made me do it”. There was also the legendary The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels where the “devil was looking for a soul to steal”.
It is my personal opinion that the devil is best portrayed in the movie, Devil’s Advocate, where a seemingly normal looking guy disguises his true identity (the devil or Satan) in order to control people’s lives. Satan uses many disguises to sway us from the will of God.
Satan is the ultimate enemy, the ultimate evil, standing in the background and orchestrating opposition to God through his highly trained servants. Satan’s motive is always the same, he seeks to exalt himself above God by opposing God and men of God.
Satan is using so many forms in this world today, and I must admit, that If I Were the Devil, I would look over this world, and I would smile. We have people afraid to say anything that’s not politically correct because they might be threatened or held up to ridicule. We have races in this country fighting each other when we should all be pulling together. We have political parties using this terrible virus to advance their political prowess and power. We have churches which are closed and thus can’t keep people focused on the will of God. We have families split by death and illness, and we have people who are isolated with no contact with those who can lift their spirits.
I can picture the devil whispering into the ears of Americans that it’s OK to break the laws and do all the things that will eventually defeat them. He never misses a chance to advance evil and test God’s omnipotence.
This is a trite example of how people can fall into traps of believing what that want to hear and forgetting the laws, but it can happen. Our family takes a “family trip” every year, and this year we ventured out to Orange Beach, Alabama. Knowing these trips, our son in law, Lee, always says, “Let the adventure begin” as soon as we all arrive. There’s always something adventuresome that happens which only adds to the memories. This year was no exception. Evidently, this particular beach has a Sundown Law which basically says, “don’t leave anything on the beach after sunset”. That seemed a little over the top to us, as it is quite a job to haul everything back and forth every day, and I don’t believe Georgia or Florida has such a law!
Knowing we could be easily swayed on this law, Satan placed into our midst an Auburn fan who happened to have his tent placed beside us on the beach our first day there. As we talked with him and lamented having to carry everything inside every day, the treacherous Auburn guy said these words, “If you just lower your tent, and leave all your stuff here, they won’t bother anything.” He must have figured out we were Georgia and Ole Miss graduates because he had our attention at “If”. (Even the lone Auburn sympathizer in our midst did not pick up on the deceit.) Bottom line, we ignored the law, lowered our tent, and left all our chairs, games, etc. under it on the beach after sunset.
Flash forward to the next morning when we walked out on our balcony to greet the day, looked down the beach, and realized everything we owned and left there was gone! We later learned that around 2 am, the beach patrol comes by and scoops up everything left there, but we have our suspicions that the Auburn guy has everything!! Funny, he said he was staying a week, but we never saw him again!! I think Satan works in much the same way.
Satan is just not teachable, and he will not change his mind about things. The sad thing is that Satan holds men and women captive to do his will, and most times they are not even aware of it. He often opposes Christians while disguising himself as a true believer and teacher of the truth. Fortunately, for all of us, Satan has never won a battle with God.
Satan is out there. Sometimes we recognize him, and sometimes we don’t. However, behind him stands the God Almighty of the universe who is in complete control and will use His powers to achieve His plan for all of us.
Meanwhile, Be alert and of a sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. I Peter 5:8
Heartfelt apologies to all my Auburn friends! It happens to all of us!!