Devil in a Box

Have you heard the phrase "the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist?" While it's tongue in cheek, there is a bit of truth to it. Now, that is not to say the phrase has validity or legitimacy. The truth of the phrase is in its implication. Today many don't believe in God let alone the Devil. Those who believe in his existence imagine a figure with horns on his head, a tail, and carrying a pitchfork. His presence and influence is often minimized by believers. One reason for this perhaps is sermons typically tend to be about more applicable, biblical topics. Another is the Bible does not provide extensive information about the Devil. Furthermore, the Devil, an integral character to the biblical narrative, is not central to the main plot, which is focused on Jesus, redemption, and salvation. Therefore, we tend to put the Devil in a box and forget about him. 

Sun Tzu said, "All warfare is based on deception." Think about that for a moment and then consider Eve's response to God in the Garden of Eden after eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. "The serpent deceived me" (Genesis 3:13, NIV). The fall of man, the origin of sin, as it were, originated with deception. A byproduct of spiritual warfare, sin entered the world and forever marred man's relationship with God. As those who study the Bible know, the serpent was really the Devil in disguise. An interesting point about this is not only did the Devil deceive Eve with his words, he also deceived her with his appearance. A fallen angel, I would imagine whatever beauty he did possess was tarnished as a result of his banishment from Heaven. So in order to achieve his objective he used deception, which is a key component of warfare. 

In Ephesians 6: 12 , Paul wrote, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (NIV). Paul understood all too well that we, believers, are involved in spiritual warfare. And as with all warfare, we have an enemy. That enemy uses deception to achieve his objective. Deception comes in many forms. For non-believers, it might be as simple the preoccupation with possessions and wealth in the false belief they provide happiness. However, when it comes to believers, deception might take on a different form, one that is subtle and born out of ignorance. Namely, it could be confining the Devil to a box. That is, negating his power and ignoring his influence. Now, I'm not proposing pastors start delivering sermons about the Devil, nor I advocating that we devote a significant amount of time to studying him. But we are engaged in warfare - the ultimate warfare, the eternal battle for souls. Therefore, we should have an adequate understanding of our enemy - yes, our enemy. The Devil not merely God's adversary, he is our nemesis. 

Many years ago, a Ph.D. candidate taught a Sunday school class at my church. One Sunday, he posed an intriguing idea. Essentially he posited that perhaps the dinosaurs never existed and their fossil remains had been 'planted' by the Devil in order to deceive others and lead them astray via science. Okay, I can hear some of you frantically objecting to such an assertion and dismissing it as poppycock. I do not intend to debate the veracity of his claim. However, his claim does raise an interesting question, something we often do not consider. And that is, what power does the Devil have in this world? What limitations does he have in this world? The Bible doesn't tell us much. Most of the comments that refer to the Devil involve not being deceived. Man's plight began with deception in the Garden of Eden. Okay, so we know the Devil is a deceiver. We also know his objective. And as Paul notes, we are involved in spiritual warfare, which is based on deception. Are you starting to see a pattern? 

While we do not know the extent of the Devil's influence in this world, we do know it is based on deception. And we know that is an integral component of warfare. So why do we put the Devil in a box and dismiss him? Why aren't we alert and vigilant, prepared for an attack that could be imminent? Non-believers tarry not because the Devil is their ally. They do his bidding by succumbing to the great deception that he doesn't even exist. And if he - the enemy - does not exist, certainly Jesus doesn't exist either. After all, without an enemy to vanquish, who needs a savior? But we know better, right? That's why we're believers. Yet we confine the Devil to his space and ignore the fact that we have an enemy. Why? Because we know how the war ends. We skipped ahead to the Book of Revelation (spoiler alert). However, this does not absolve us of our duty, nor does it diminish the Devil's influence in our lives. 

There's a saying "the best defense is a good offense," meaning if the offense does its job well, the defense won't really have to do much. Essentially, if the offense has the enemy preoccupied with defending itself, it won't have time to attack. My friends, we are involved in spiritual warfare every day! The battle doesn't end when one comes to faith in Christ. Rather, that's when it begins! Yes, we have a savior who will one day cast the Devil, our enemy, into the Lake of Fire. Until that day comes, we battle the invisible forces of the spiritual realm whose leader is the Devil. We know little about him. What we do know should keep us on guard and ever vigilant. We are sentries standing watch, and we must remain alert, for our enemy seeks to do us harm, to lead us astray, to make us ineffective in our calling, and to deceive us. Unfortunately, we inadvertently confine him to a box and forget about him. Perhaps the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled for non-believers was convincing them he doesn't exist. For believers the greatest trick he ever pulled was causing us to underestimate his influence in this world.