Published: May 05, 2008 04:53 pm            

Misty Schultz: If we give the devil his due, he’ll desensitize us to evil

Whenever someone does something that is incredibly ornery, he or she may say, “The devil made me do it.”

Of course, no one really wants to face the reality that his action was possibly prompted by temptations presented from beings in the spiritual realm.

We nonchalantly say, “If there is good, there is also evil.” But, how many people really stop to think about what that means?

Christians know that the devil is a beautiful fallen angel. They are also aware he took on the form of a serpent and tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. However, few consider how he affects their lives on a daily basis.

It’s more comfortable to picture the devil with red horns and a pitchfork than it is to envision him as a beautiful temptress.

In fact, we are so desensitized by culture’s image of the devil that we even let our children dress up like cute little devils for Halloween.

Can you envision the enemy’s face as he observes this scene? I can just imagine him beaming, “God says they are made in his image, but they are choosing to adorn themselves in mine!”

We casually teach our kids the song, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart” followed by the second verse, “If the devil doesn’t like it, he can sit on a tack.”

So, children are taught the devil is the red creature with squinty eyes and a pointy tail who gets to sit on a tack if he doesn’t like the joy in our hearts.

Is this the belief we choose to take into adulthood? If so, the enemy has won a tremendous battle. We are officially blindsided because we do not give him enough credit for what he is capable of doing.

If we choose to be naïve about the spiritual realm and the enemy’s powers, he can get by with murder. Literally. Just look around.

Marriages are breaking up at an alarming rate. Marriage is God’s covenant. The devil despises this union.

Sex is on every television show, movie, billboard, magazine cover and Internet site. Sex is God’s way for a married man and woman to show one another love and bring forth precious children, who are created in God’s image. The devil has defiled this beautiful act.

Materialism has taken the focus off service. God asks us to give to the poor and the needy. He tells us not to store our treasures on earth. The devil seeks to distract us by greed.

Technology is taking the place of family time. Family members spend time on the Internet, playing video games, listening to their MP3 players and watching television instead of spending time with God and the people who are supposed to be their priority. The devil desires to destroy the family unit.

Some may argue that times change, and people must change with the times.

I will argue that if changing with the times takes my focus off God and the people who are most important to me, then changing with the times is not for me because these things do not honor God.

Am I saying that sex and money and the Internet are evil? No. They can be a blessing if we honor God with them.

But the enemy has taken our focus off sex in the marriage relationship and made us believe, slowly but surely, that “everyone has sex before marriage these days.” Desensitized.

He has taken our focus off making money to give to those in need and made us believe we must have new cars, new technology, a nice house and fashionable clothes. Desensitized.

He has taken our focus off innocent e-mails and used the Internet to tempt men, women and children to stray from their values every single day through millions of pornography sites and sex chat rooms. Desensitized.

Friends, these things do not come from God. And, if you think they come from some personal issue or insecurity, you are again wrong. You are fooled. These things come from an enemy who is serious about pulling you away from God and ripping your family apart.

1 Peter 5:8 tells us, “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (NKJV)

The devil lurks everywhere. He uses spirits to deceive us everyday. If you choose to think these spirits are not real, you have given the devil yet another victory.

When Jesus cast out demons, they were real. And they are real today, working among us and succeeding.

Just as there is light, there is darkness. Just as there are angels, there are demons.

Read C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters” or Frank Peretti’s “Piercing the Darkness.” These authors will bring this spiritual battle to life.

Do not believe the lie that you are protected. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you are immune from his wiles. Do not assume the scary monsters in the book of Revelation only come back after Jesus raptures his people. This is not truth!

Instead ponder how the devils seeks to desensitize you.

Remember, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the ruler of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (NKJV)



Misty Shultz holds master’s

degrees in marriage and family counseling and Christian

education. She can be reached at mmenos_7@yahoo.com.

        

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