Yoder: If I Were Satan

By Kathy Yoder

If I were Satan, I’d look back at the Garden of Eden and smile. Tempting Eve was just the beginning. “Wasn’t it great that Adam went along with her? Hah! The spiritual leader of his family, my foot! He was led around like a puppy dog.

“I loved it when they felt shame for the very first time because they realized they were naked. That tickled my funny bone. And best of all, they both hid from God! The one they’d been walking with since the beginning of their lives. The one who created them and gave them life.

“The best part is that when God confronted them, Adam blamed the woman and she blamed the snake, who was me, of course. I love it!” Satan chuckles.

“Oh, and that was just the start,” Satan continues. “I encouraged one brother to hate the other and just like that,” he snaps his fingers, “the first murder occurred. How delightful! It’s been a slippery, downhill slope ever since. I do such good work!” he brags.

“What’s better than fighting families? It’s great when some small, perceived injustice blossoms into an all-out war, tearing families apart. They walk away from one another vowing to never forgive or forget. Their anger feeds my soul. I do my best work when I destroy families. I did that at the beginning and I’m still doing it today. I love my job.”

Prancing around Satan dances a little jig. He’s ecstatically happy. Of course his happiness does not come from joy. It comes from destruction. That’s what pleases him and makes him smile his ghoulish smile. It gives him pleasure. He’s motivated by hate, by sin, by darkness, by emptiness, and of course, by evil.

It’s easy to underestimate him. He likes it that way. If we see him as a cartoon character, then he’s not threatening. “Go ahead and draw me in red long johns with a pointy tail. I don’t mind,” he winks charmingly. “I really am harmless,” he says in a slithering voice.

“I enjoy it when people say, ‘The devil made me do it.’ Sure, I’ll take the credit. Free choice is just an illusion. You must follow me.”

When we believe that nothing’s our own fault, that’s when he retrieves his fishing pole. When we laugh at the thought of him and don’t believe he exists, that’s when he puts the bait on the hook. The bait varies from person to person. Appealing to human pride is certainly an oldie but a goodie.

He flatters us by convincing us that we’re too smart to believe in God. He tells us that we’re superior because we know the truth, unlike so many others. We don’t even have to deny God. Satan is sneaky that way. According to him, we can have it all.

We can merely agree that there are many ways to heaven. Isn’t that the logical belief of mature individuals? We can include every possibility out there, even God. But why limit ourselves to only one God? Why put so much stock into this one Jesus? Oh, he was a nice guy. We know that. But there were other nice guys, too. We don’t want to insult anyone’s belief system. We want everyone to feel included.

And that’s when Satan says, “I’ve caught you!” He starts reeling you in slowly. So slowly, in fact, you don’t realize that you’re moving. He doesn’t want you getting wise to his efforts. He’s patient that way. With every step toward him, it’s another step away from God.

Sometimes it takes a lifetime, but he doesn’t give up. He plants ideas into your mind that slowly change you. You threw your Bible away a long time ago. You thought that was your idea, but it wasn’t. Satan told you, “This book is for children and not very smart ones, like you. Get rid of it.”

And you do. You brag to yourself, “I know better.” Satan, watching from a distance, giggles to himself as he reels you in a little bit more. And because you don’t read the Word of God, and you don’t know how to ask for the Lord’s help. You’re helpless against the schemes of the devil.

Before you know it, you’re trapped in a web of lies and deceit. It’s become your way of life. It’s become your life, which leads to death, not to eternal life in heaven. And the freedom you thought you enjoyed by making your own choices and living life on your own terms is an illusion. And the most tragic event of all is when you pass on the same beliefs onto your children.

Oh, if I was Satan I would be delighted when parents turn their children not only into unbelievers but also into haters of the truth. Haters of God.

But life is not completely hopeless even for those who have walked away from the Lord. If I were Satan I’d hate the fact that our God is a loving God who forgives those who sincerely repent and turn from sin. If you haven’t done that yet, do it today before it’s too late.

“For God says, ‘At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation I helped you.’ Indeed, the ‘right time’ is now. Today is the day of salvation’” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Kathy Yoder is a devotional writer and Christian author. She may be reached at Kathyyoder4@gmail.com and Kathyyoder.com.