Sympathy for the Devil

Just call me Lucifer
Cause I'm in need of some restraint
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, um yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game

--The Rolling Stones, "Sympathy for the Devil"

Man, the devil makes a great villain, doesn't he?

He scares us to death in the Exorcist and Dante, and periodically shows up in more modern fare as the Big Bad of a movie or television show. We seem to be getting away from the devil as cartoon, and getting more to this kind of devil: seductive, persuasive, and deadly.

Satan is real. And he is good at what he does. And what he does is set the table for us to sin, and make it look good. There is no "devil made me do it" junk- he just offers.

Look at Luke 4 and see that he offers some attractive stuff to Jesus. What's more, he has the power to give it. Jesus, however, sees the strings attached, and knows what's good and in God's plan. He turns down a lucrative offer.

You and I don't get a face to face with the Prince of this world, that old fallen angel/snake/accuser. At least, not in such an obvious way. He is there- or, at least his demonic buddies are. Behind every temptation is a hope of Satan to kill your relationship with God. He can't snatch you from the Lord's hand, but he can take your intimacy with God and make you miserable in this life. If you let him.

I'm not a "demon around every corner" kind of guy- sometimes bad things and bad people just happen. I believe that often, when we give in to temptation so much, the instigator of that desire is our own sinful nature, not so much a dark whisper in the ear. Sort of an automatic start for sin.

In the movies, getting rid of Satan means learning Latin, buying a crucifix, and stocking up on Holy Water. Sometimes I wish fighting Satan were so tangible, that he were more like a monster that could be dispatched with the right formula of weapon and words. The true way to defeat Satan puts the power not in some talisman or phrase- but in God.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.-- James 4:7

It means, give yourself to God. Then, and only then, can you have the strength to do what comes next- resist. Without God in your life, the Rolling Stones are right, Satan will "lay your soul to waste."

It is a serious error to ignore that Satan is real and is powerful. It is equally serious to give him too much credit. He is defeated. He is limited. He is only capable of doing what God allows- and what we give him permission to do.

So, please- no sympathy for the devil. Just resistance.

Preceded and surrounded by submission to God.