The Devil, pt. 3

The last 2 posts of this series used a picture that people usually associate with the ‘classic’ look of Satan, the devil: Red, horns, tail & pitchfork. Since this imagery is not in The Bible, you have to ask; Who's behind the propagation of that image?
In late 2010, M. Night Shyamalan produced a movie, 'Devil'. When I’d seen the previews earlier in the year, my righteous self was like “Oh, I’m never going to watch that movie – no reason to subject myself to something so obviously evil”.
As I think back, I don’t even know what changed my mind about seeing it, but I saw it and I’m glad I did.

Without giving anything away, the movie is sort of like a “Who done it?”, or more to the point “Who’s doing it?” but it’s intriguing because as the watcher, you’re really trying to figure out WHO the devil is and there’s enough twist and turns to keep you guessing.
I don’t know Mr. Shyamalan’s theology when it comes to Satan, but I would say that he’s more on the mark than the “red guy”. I remember looking at the situation where Jesus says to Peter “Get behind me Satan” and first I thought “Whoa! That’s harsh!” Later I thought, was Jesus serious? Was He really calling Peter THE DEVIL?
When I look at the rest of Scripture in context – I think He was.

Here’s The Word;

1 John 3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Genesis 4:7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Acts 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?

Matthew 16:23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

The Bible tells us that Satan “prowls” around looking for an opportunity. He doesn’t have the means or physical form (like the red guy) to show up and commit mayhem on his own. His method is to influence a person to victimize into fulfilling his will. Once he’s found his puppet, isn’t it right to look past the strings and call out the puppet master by name? This is what we see in Scripture. We are told to be on guard, watchful and wise when it comes to the devil and because we know he tries to use us as well as other people – that’s where we look for manifestations of ‘devilishness’.

Do you think Peter could’ve gotten away with one of the main phrases we hear today? “Hey! Don’t judge me.”
We must not allow ourselves to be lulled into being unprepared for fear of making someone feel judged: Being watchful, assessing your situation and acting accordingly (resist when appropriate, or flee when necessary) are all important things we do to keep our feet on the ‘straight way’ and some people will see it and feel a certain way. Be biblical and tender, speak the truth IN love and like Christ did with Peter, don’t just hurl an accusation; explain the concern.
Remember, if we’re not actively guarding our hearts and keeping a watchful eye, we run the risk of being influenced by Satan or running into him, clothed in any random smiling, good intentioned person we’re likely to meet.


In Him,
Cros