I grew up, as many of you I’m sure, hearing that God is personal. And Depeche Mode sang it so it must be true.
I say He’s personal, in part, because He has a unique plan for my life that’s very different from His plan for you.
But I woke up this morning wondering if there’s a personal devil?
The devil isn’t someone educated folks who ignore black cats and ladders are supposed to give too much thought – or credit – I know, but I am this morning. What do you think? Is he or isn’t he (and his minions) personal? In what sense?
That gives me the creeps.
Sure makes since. Course the good news is that the devil can’t be everywhere at once. But yeah the devil and his minions can be very personal. He knows our week spots and sends temptations to us of those kinds only. Why bother with trying to knock down a part of a foundation that’s strong and sturdy? Go for the weak parts of the structure and the building will come falling down in no time.
The Enemy is not God – not omnipotent, not omniscient, not omnipresent. For Satan to pay attention to us, we have to do something that grabs his attention. If we’re not walking in Christ’s steps, being the salt and light, then why would Satan bother with us (he’s got us, anyway). So, for the person not in Christ, I would say no to your question.
But for the person walking with God, I would answer yes. The Enemy wants to break us, discourage us, draw us away from Jehovah. I think he does place his minions around those of us who catch his attention, to try to weaken us. And yeah, that gives me the creeps, too.
Good question. Immediately reminded me of The Screwtape Letters, and the correspondence shared between Screwtape and his uncle, if I’m not mistaken.
The devil can get personal. Jesus said he had asked to sift Peter like wheat.
Oh yeah. I think the devil is very personal. He is there to dismantle the truth of who God is. Believers then become his primary target, and he uses the vulnerable areas each of us have to impede our service to God. In my personal experience it seems the devil tries even harder to make me stumble when I am in the midst of doing something great for God. I’ve even come to expect it, and by recognizing what the devil is doing gives me power through God to overcome him and his minions.
Not so sure I agree with this statement.
“If we’re not walking in Christ’s steps, being the salt and light, then why would Satan bother with us (he’s got us, anyway). “
It’s something I have heard from church folk my whole life, but doesn’t ring true to me. It’s almost folk lore sounding. I think that evil exsist throughout the world and is a direct result from original sin. The devil is real and personal. He got personal with the son of God didn’t he? i believe I have read they had conversations. But what about mass murderers, rapist, and the rest of the worse of the worse kind of people. Isn’t it possible that the devil had a little something to do with them. Even if they don’t believe in Christ? If Jesus is all truth, life, and love and is the way we are suppose to be, then wouldn’t it seem possible that all evil, hate, etc. is of the devil? People have personal demons, “born again” or not, that are rooted in Satan. Steal, kill, and destroy rings a bell.
So yes I think that the Devil can get personal.
Now, the good news is that we have authority over Satan. So I think a bigger question would be what does authority mean?
I get the confusion PD. It’s a blurry line between devil and me isn’t it?
On the one hand Paul says (Romans 7) that sin is as work in me – not the devil. And on the other hand the devil lead Jesus out into the wilderness and double dared him to jump off a building. is the rapist you mentioned the devil, influenced by the devil or is it “sin at work” in him…whatever that means specifically?
Good questions I think. Not answering could get me off the hook and free from responsibility.
I’m not sure if the devil is or isn’t. But I was thinking back to Job and there God told Satan about Job, instead of like Peter (mentioned above) where the devil asked to sift him.
What I said was a bit simplistic. I’m not trying to say that Satan has no part working in the lives of those who are not in Christ. His fingerprints are all over the actions of the murder, the rapist, the liar, the thief. I’m trying to say that Satan does not have to be as persistent with them, since they already walk in darkness, and so probably pays somewhat less attention to them.
Really, in ways, I see this as a moot conversation. We know that there are evil spirits and powers in this world, and that they struggle against us. We know that God has sent us His Spirit to strengthen us. Beyond this, it all gets a bit folklore: we just really don’t know that much about the Spiritual realm. Outside of 1) acknowledging the battle between good and evil, God and sin, is something that touches our lives individually, and 2) preparing our lives for such conflict, there seems little point in speculations. At best we drift into realms of fancy; at worst, we pervert the gospel or destroy the hope that upholds us with fear.
A fair question to ask is, why did God not tell us more about such things? A valid answer is we just don’t need to know.
I think the Devil is personal and real…but I think it’s equally bad to ignore his existence or view him as God’s opposite.
He encourages evil. But I think that, in each and every one of our hearts, we are capable of every sin–all without Satan’s help.
Great (and creepy) question Shaun. Especially as you brought up Depeche Mode’s song “Personal Jesus”. Martin Gore from Depeche Mode asks that spiritual question about a personal devil in the song “Blasphemous Rumours”
http://www.depechemode.se/B/blasphemous_rumours.htm
Here’s a great interpretation from songmeanings.net:
“This is one of the great arguments against God’s existence. One would think of Christianity as having a protective quality to it. If you have faith in God it seems that He should protect you. However, it seems that God has other plans sometimes. There is a book in the Bible that deals with this subject: Job.
Here’s the reader’s digest version of Job:
It’s all about how Job was the most righteous man on earth, and Satan has a kind of wager with God that Job will turn away from his faith if bad stuff starts happening to him. So God allows satan to do all kinds of unimaginably bad stuff to him: ruin his fortune, kill his family, and give him painful and irritating boils that he has to scrape with potsherds (broken pots I think). Things get worse and worse for Job until his friends come over to comfort him. They go off on him because they assume he’s commiting some major sin to deserve such punishment. Job contests correctly that he’s innocent of such charges. Eventually he gets an answer from God. “Who are you to question God?” is the basic idea of it. He gets better, and gets a new family.. etc. But it doesn’t take away the pain and suffering that was already caused.”
I suppose that we are tempted as individuals. Though, it’s not always a “devil” doing that. We war with our flesh more than satan I think. BUT the temptation originally comes from him so yes and no.
And if Depeche Mode sang it.. I believe it. hehe. I prefer the Johnny Cash cover of Personal Jesus anyhow.
ever read C.S. Lewis’ “Screwtape Letters”?….. i think he would say we have personal devils.
Yeah, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to learn that we’ve all got some fallen angel assigned to us at various times. I think there’s some validity to the idea of “guardian angels,” so why not “personal devils?” I’m not sure this devil is always the same individual, but I’m pretty sure we’ve got them following us around, at least as long as we’re striving to make in impact for Christ.
I agree most with Rambler guy. Also I agree with Euphrony, with your statement about why God wouldn’t tell us more bout the spiritual realm. It’s TMI! We can’t bear more. And I think (speculating) that maybe the LORD doesn’t want us to be so distracted by freaky dark things that we forget to fear Him most, as He has the ultimate power. Know what I mean?
p.s. by freaky dark things I specifically mean demons.
Check out Zechariah 3 for a picture of the unseen “devil” in Joshua’s life. Is that personal? Does that sort of thing happen to everyone?
I believe demons can be very personal. While Frank Peretti’s books are certainly fiction, “This Present Darkness” and “Piercing the Darkness” are two that address the personal attacks by demons on those who are vulnerable. Emotions like fear, doubt, worry, anxiety, depression, etc. can be personal demons and they can attack when we least expect it. When satan fell, he didn’t leave heaven alone. He took a third of the angels with him. I don’t think they’re hanging out in hell doing nothing.
Beth
I’m not sure that the Devil or his minions are personal. I think I could give them the benefit of being well organized and high intentional in the actions.
However I do believe that our sin is personal.
I once heard a sermon on pride entitled, “The Devil I Never Knew” (a play off Yancey’s “The Jesus I Never Knew”). The closing line of the sermon was, “The devil I never knew was the pride inside of me.”
I’ve often wondered what this scene (Zechariah 3) looked like through Joshua’s eyes. We get the picture of the revealed spiritual contest that is given to Zechariah, but how was it to the man living it?
With Zechariah 3, we have almost the picture of a court battle. Satan, the accuser, tries to send Joshua up the river. But the angel says not so fast. The picture Satan wants God to see is Joshua in shambles (filthy clothes), but the angel changes the picture by changing his clothes. A very personal battle, with Satan contending for one man (much like with Job). It’s a good thing that Jehovah is not fooled by lawyer tricks!
That Zechariah 3 passage is just like Job’s challenge and questioning his faith. Another 80’s band who spoke on this topic is INXS with the song “Devil Inside” and how pride is “the devil inside” and the very last line is very telling: “it’s hard to believe we need a place called hell”. Lyrics here:
http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=38690
I had the wonderful & rare opportunity to be able to talk w/ Martin Gore on a few occasions here in Chicago when they were on tour. The 1st time I hung out with him was Friday October 29, 1993 (I’ll never forget that day—I scored an all-access pass from a friend’s father). I’ve asked him several questions regarding his writings of faith—especially the album “Songs of Faith & Devotion” (1993) & Blasphemous rumors. This really meant alot to me for I hoped that the meaning wasn’t blasphemy (for lack of better terms) I was releaved!!! He DID say that he does read the bible & he DID make reference to Job as the reference @ http://www.songmeanings.net said. As for the Album, he said that he considers himself a Christian, believes in Jesus & is fascinated with the scriptures saying, “they’re most brilliant writings in existence”. He wrote the album with the thought that he wanted to try to have some positive music with good meaning & symbolism be absorbed by “The Masses” He’s a true gentelman & very open to my questions. An opportunity that I’ll never forget.
I’ve been a Depeche Mode fan long before I became a Christian. I was truly happy when my questions were answered straight from the horses mouth (again, for lack of better terms).
Joe
I could see it being possible that there is a demon specifically assigned to us to make our lives miserable.
I’ll admit that I tend to roll my eyes at the Charismatic types who see demons and devils lurking around every corner, waiting to ensnare you. (I grew up in that tradition, so that’s probably why I have a knee-jerk reaction to it now.) I’m not the superstitious type, so I don’t see the world as being full of evil spirits that need to be exorcised.
I do believe that Satan is real, just as I believe that God is real. And I’m sure that things like angels and demons exist; the Bible refers to them. But I get tired of the assumption that God’s angels are watching over you because you good a good parking space despite being five minutes late to church, or that Satan’s minions were attempting to thwart you because you got a flat tire along the way. I guess I don’t like all of that because it trivializes the Christian faith.
What I know about God is that God is good, and everything good that we do comes from God. Satan is the antithesis of that, so one could argue that every sinful thing we do comes from Satan, though this is often used to get us off the hook in a “Devil made me do it” sort of way, which is why I don’t like talking about Satan all that much when I’m around people who aren’t Christians and/or have simplistic beliefs on the subject. It makes more logical sense to me to say that yes, there is a Satan, but at all times, I’m the one who gets to decide whether I’m going to be influenced by him or not. If I sin (which everyone does in at least some small way on a daily basis), I only have myself to blame.
I think that there is an active evil force conspiring to make me sin on a regular basis, and I suppose you could personify that as a demon if you wanted to. Regardless of whether you believe it’s an actual spiritual being, or just an unclean state of the human mind, the result is the same – we need to resist it and pray against it and hold ourselves accountable. I think that helps to bridge the gap between me and some of the “superstitious” folks, in terms of keeping our eyes on the important lesson to be learned from it.
But blaming the Devil for bad things that happen to me which aren’t my fault? I’m not so sure about that. Sometimes it’s because they’re not actually bad things – they’re actually God’s provision in disguise. Sometimes it’s because they’re just the frustrating inconveniences of life, and they don’t seem to be a result of anyone’s sin. So I tend to not engage in the Satan talk most of the time, simply because I don’t know whether good or evil forces are behind some of the things I encounter in my life.
Lots of things considered to be demonic by some people, such as alcohol or rock music, are actually neutral. They’re tools that can be used by both sides. We’ve seen how Satan has used them, so we assume they’re only tools of Satan, but in reality, I think that it’s only God who creates things, and Satan who rips them off and manipulates them in ways they weren’t meant for. Hence, it’s very rare that I classify any one category of things or group of people as “evil”.
I’m not sure if that answered your question, but that’s my random thought tangent on the subject.
Is it possible these “devils” come from our own hearts? Yes, there is evil and yes, it can from Satan and his minons but usually Satan doesn’t have to help at all for evil to come from our hearts… many just prefer to blame him.
Joe K. said: “I’ve been a Depeche Mode fan long before I became a Christian. I was truly happy when my questions were answered straight from the horses mouth (again, for lack of better terms).”
Joe, thanks for your post. I’ve also been a Depeche Mode long before I became Christian and somewhat credit them for my seeking. I also saw them on the “Songs of Faith & Devotion” tour in 1993 in Philly and by then I could tell Martin had figured out his faith which is when I started figuring out mine. I have been very encouraged by the band’s transformation from 1981 to the most recent “Playing the Angel” in 2005, in particular the song “Precious”. Lyrics here:
http://www.depechemode.se/P/precious.htm
I’ve made that same transformation and also hold Jesus as “precious”. God Bless!
Kevin
FYI: If you are posessed, you can have multiple demons in you.
And tehre are multiple formsof temptations in the world.
I blog on exorcism, narcissism, psychopaths,the Devil and evil.