It Starts Small

I started to learn that Satan and his minions are pretty sinister. I learned how demons come at us on the outside and inside, and if you’re not saved, how demons completely posses a person. Part of the verses from 1 John 2 had me wondering a bit.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 1 John 2:16

Someone who is in the world, has lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. I hadn’t really remembered ever hearing about this. So I took a rabbit trail and decided if I was to understand evil, I needed to understand what these three things were.

Lust of the Flesh (passion, needs)

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Galatians 5:17

This is that civil war that goes on inside of us. The old nature battles the new nature. Our old nature lusts after gluttony, laziness, drunkenness, immorality, and perversion. Satan takes our normal needs and perverts them. One of our basic needs is corrupted when we don’t allow God to meet our basic needs.

Lust of the eyes (getting)

A good example of this is found in 1 Timothy.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10

I think we can insert anything physical in place of “money.” Anything that we desire and want more than a relationship with God, that we can physically obtain is this sort of lust. I think we need to stop and ask ourselves what motivates us to do what we are doing? To get what we are seeking? Am I seeking the kingdom of heaven or seeking my own desires, success, and fortune? We also have to be careful with our possessions. Is there anything material you can not part with?

Pride of life (being)

Pride of life is best described as a self-confident comparison, and a pleasure with ones own life. Jesus uses the example of the Publican and the Pharisee. (Luke 18:9-14) The pride of life is seeking to be somebody on your own terms in your own way without God. It’s an attitude of trying to keep up with the neighbors. It’s a life lived for the praise and impressing of others.

I thought about these for awhile. It seemed oddly familiar. I finally figured it out, these were the same exact temptations satan temped Jesus with in the desert. (Matthew 4:1-11)

The first temptation was for food. Jesus had been fasting in the desert for 40 days. He was hungry. Satan said turn these stones into food. He was tempting Jesus with a basic need. The second temptation was tempting Jesus with jumping so angels could save him. He was temping Jesus with the fame that could arise from the spectacle. And finally Jesus is temped with power.

I wondered why exactly Satan thought he could tempt Jesus. Perhaps he want Jesus to join his side or to kill Jesus in revenge for being tossed out of heaven into hell. No matter the reason, I believe we are shown what great lengths satan and his minions will do to try and get between us and God. We have to always remember he doesn’t care about us, he only cares in destroying us and all of God’s creation to get at God.

This brings about another section of verses that I believe reveal the true nature of our enemy. In Genesis 3 we read about the fall of man. I’ve come to believe the satan has never had to change his tactics. He’s used the same four lies over and over.

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. John 8:44

Satan’s motive is murder and his method is lying. Satan wants to bring death to life, joy, happiness, peace, and fruitfulness. He is the master liar and he’s very cleaver. We learn in Genesis 3:1 he is very subtle. He doesn’t come in with a bull horn or flashing lights. He sneaks and slithers in.

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Genesis 3:1

His lies are not on the surface. You have to look below the surface because the best lies can sound like the truth. His lies can be a mix of truth and still be lying. He only needs to get you thinking a wrong might be right. Our thoughts are the father to deeds. It’s more dangerous to think and believe a wrong thing than to actually do a wrong thing. If you believe in that wrong thing, you keep doing it over and over again. The act can’t be acted on its own without a thought.

Satan tells lies in the biggest subjects. He’s not interested in the little things. His greatest subject is God. If he can get you to believe a lie about who God is, what God is like, then he’s got you on the hook. Satan’s four biggest lies all deal with the Character of God!

#1 God is not loving. …Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Genesis 3:1

Satan works hard to get Eve (and us) to think negatively about God.

God is withholding goodness.

God is unloving.

God is severe and cruel.

God wants no joy.

God made her a garden and told her to touch nothing.

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: Genesis 2:16

God said: of every tree you may eat freely

Satan said: God said you shall not eat of every tree? (Notice he spoke it in a question format)

God’s Word is full of the promise he gives us the desires of our heart.

When your walking faithfully with God, your heart desires righteousness and the things of God.

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 37:4

For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

When you’re walking with Satan, your desire is nothing but evil.

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45

For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. Mark 7:21-23

If there’s something I’ve learned while studying God’s word:

Thou shalt not = don’t hurt yourself by doing this

Thou shalt = help yourself to happiness

God is not a cosmic killjoy. If he says don’t do something there’s a reason behind it. It’s death to ourselves. God didn’t tell them to not eat of any tree…he told them thou shall not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. There’s a huge difference in the truth and the lie.

I was learning just as much about God as I was satan. If he can lie about how much God loves us, what else does he lie about?