Do you believe in the devil?
CS Lewis says that there are two fundamental mistakes we can make about the devil, one is to ignore his existence and the other is to spend too give him too much attention.
I knew a woman once who talked about the devil all the time. When her car broke down and she could not get to bible study, she claimed that it was the devil. So many things in her life were caused by the devil that the devil played a major role in her life.
On the other hand, there are many people out there who don't believe in the existence of evil at all and this seems wholly inadequate. How else can we explain all the suffering in the world?
On one Sunday a year, the church talks about the devil and we think about temptation. One Sunday out of 52. That is a good ratio. We are following CS Lewis' advice and taking the devil seriously but not giving the subject all our attention.
On this Sunday, we pray in detail for all the pain and suffering in the world and we wonder why we have fallen so far. The prayers that we said at the beginning of this service are part of an ancient practice called The Great Litany. It is traditional, on this, the first Sunday of Lent, to pray for the pain and suffering in the world. So it seems appropriate that we read about Jesus' encounter with the devil this one Sunday. According to scripture, the Devil is a fallen angel, not an uncreated being equivalent to God, but the ultimate expression of our free will. The devil is the personification of our worst choices, the choice to run from God. That is why his name is tempter.
If we are called to model Jesus, then we must notice that the very first thing he did before ministering to anyone was to face the devil. Jesus went out alone to an empty place. He ate nothing and he prayed. And the devil came to him. He did not go to the devil, the devil came to him, and the devil comes to all of us too. On the first Sunday of Lent, we read about Jesus conversation with the devil.
The devil offers Jesus three choices. First, he suggests that Jesus put himself first by breaking his fast and feeding himself. Second, he challenges Jesus to test God and despair by throwing himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple. And lastly, the devil offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if only he would fall down and worship the devil himself.
Feed yourself, kill yourself, take all the kingdoms of the world for yourself.
The key to all the temptations of the devil are that they are all about the self.
The devil wants us stuck inside ourselves. The devil wants you to think only of yourself all the time, what you are feeling, how you are doing, whether or not people like you, if you have what you want and need. The devil talks in the language of me and me and me. Giving to others, refraining from taking everything you are offered, thinking about other people-these actions are antithetical to the devil's work. The devil does not know generosity. Not at all.
This past week, I traveled up north to New York City. I picked up my son and after seeing a friend, we drove at night into Newark New Jersey so that I could take the train into Manhattan to preach at General Seminary the next day. As all of you well know, it is freezing cold up north right now. In the mornings, the ice and snow covered the windshield of our rental car. I rented a jeep with four wheel drive just in case the weather got really bad. As we drove through the night, I kept those windshield wipers on to brush away the ice and snow so that I could see where I was going.
The devil is much like the ice, snow, sleet and rain that cloud the windows of our true nature. God created us to look out on the creation and think of others and be awake and live fully. The devil wants to block our vision, to cloud over who we really are and get us stuck inside ourselves, unable to see clearly. Think about what would have happened to me on the road down to Newark if my windshield wipers had broken. I would have been unable to see clearly. I could have been in a terrible accident and hurt myself or others.
Sometimes the devil won't completely block our vision but will skew it. Take for example a woman who was mistreated and beaten by her father as a small child. The abuse gave the devil an opening. She began to believe that she was bad and deserved to be mistreated. This false map of life, if it is not identified as false by her, will cover her windshield and she will not see the world clearly but only through the lens of her temptation to believe herself unworthy. Hence, she will only chose men who mistreat her and she will wonder why her life is broken. In reality, the temptation has colored her vision and she cannot see clearly.
Identifying temptation is key. You cannot refuse the devil if you don't know that he is there or what he sees. Get to know your temptations so that you can wipe them away.
I believe that CS Lewis was right. We should not deny the existence of the devil but we should not get consumed with him either. We should brush off the devil like windshield wipers brush off bad weather. Wipe off his temptations, his distractions. You don't need to go to war with the devil, just say no as Jesus did. The devil is intent on getting you to be completely and totally self-absorbed, to put yourself before God. If you close in on yourself, you will not only be miserable but you will make terrible mistakes, hurting yourself and others. So wipe off the self-absorption and say no to temptations daily.
Every day, you and I must wake up and wipe off the temptations to be self-pitying or consumed by worry or afraid for our futures. We must wipe away despair and hopelessness and vanity. If you are thinking about yourself all the time, it's time to clean the windshield. A healthy Christian should be awake, watching what God is doing in the world, listening to the needs of others and responding in kind. We ought to take care of ourselves, yes, but only so that we can serve God, not as an end unto itself.
Years ago, I came up with a new phrase which meant repent. "Get over Yourself" seemed a more accurate translation and I still stick to it. It is the main message of Lent. Jesus told us to repent over and over again. When he called his disciples, he said that the Kingdom of heaven was at hand but they could not see it because they had not repented, they had not cleaned off their windshields, they were too absorbed with themselves.
Remember that the devil wants you to be all about yourself. Brush him off like frost, like old residue or dirty water, clear your mind. Only then will you be ready to begin your ministry in the world.
