Deals are made every day between two people, or organizations, or corporations. But a deal with the devil is something to stop and think about.
A few years back, Nancy asked me to take her to the movie, The Devil Wears Prada. This movie was about a high-powered fashion magazine editor, Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep. Andrea Sacks, a recent college graduate who traveled to New York to work as a journalist is played by Anne Hathaway. However, Andrea gets a job as a co-assistant working with Miranda Priestly and gets the deal of her life—travel, money, power—all right in the center of the women’s fashion world.
The only problems she had were losing her boyfriend, betraying her co-worker, telling lies, sleeping with a co-worker, etc. She sold her life to the devil. She sacrificed her personal life for her career.
I remember another movie of the same genre. I did not see the movie, Bedazzled, released around 2001-2002. The story was about a naïve Elliot Richards (Brendan Fraser) who is granted seven wishes by the devil to share Allison (Elizabeth Hurley), the girl of his dreams, in exchange for his soul.
Somewhere in the 1940’s a hit movie was made called, The Devil and Daniel Webster (later re-released under the title, All That Money Can Buy). This RKO movie is about a poor, downtrodden former Jabez Stone, who in 1840 New Hampshire, sells his soul to “Mr. Scratch” in return for seven years of luck and prosperity. All he wants in money shows up because he took advantage of his neighbors. He is alienated from his wife, so “Mr. Scratch” sends Stone a beautiful house servant that entrances him. His son is also under her influence and acts out in rebellion.
With the clock running out, Mr. Stone begs for help from the attorney and orator and fellow New Hampshirite, Daniel Webster. Mr. Stone asks if there is some way to cancel the debt to the devil. Daniel Webster takes the case.
A trial is held and the jury is made up of popular Americans, now deceased, who were all classified as evil men—all men who were tricked by Satan just like Mr. Stone. Webster wins the trial by convincing the jury that they were tricked and says, “Don’t let the country go to the devil, free Stone.”
The jury agreed and as Daniel Webster leaves the courthouse, the devil whispers to him, “I promise you, your dream of being President of the U.S. will not happen because of what you did today.”
This very popular genre of literature and movies all started with the German legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles back in the 15-16th century.
Even Charlie Daniels and his band wrote a ballad about this: “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”—a great country song.
The Bible tells us a lot about bad deals:
· Esau selling his birthright for a single meal (Gen 25:28-34; Heb 12:16-17)
· Sons of Jacob selling their brother Joseph into Egypt (Gen 37:27-28)
· King Saul bargaining with the witch of Endor (1 Sam 28:3-25)
· Herod bargaining with Salome (Mk 6:21-28) which ended with death of John the Baptist
· Judas bargaining with chief priests (Matt 26:14-16)—betrayal of Jesus
If you put a bottom line to this blog, it would be two-fold:
· Don’t bargain your life away. Invest it for God and people. 2 Cor 5:9, “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”
· No person on earth gets a second chance after death. Rom 6:16-17, “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed.”
God Bless,
Woody
P.S. Don’t fall for “fool’s gold”! The devil always offers that which cannot satisfy, because he masquerades as an “angel of light”. (2 Cor 11:14)
Stay alert!!!
During the last presidential campaign I read widely and discovered that there is a lot of media bias. At first it annoyed me and later on it helped me to ask questions that clarified my understanding of mistakes, lies, lies by omission and how the speaker, journalist, was writing.
From childhood you’ve heard about “white lies”. You’ve read, no doubt, about compulsive lying. (By the way, a big battle is going on to see if compulsive lying will be added to the Bible of Psychology called the DSM III – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. The term they want to use is Mythomania or Compulsive Lying Syndrome.”
Some of my favorite quotes have to do with language and lying. Here are a few of them:
1. “No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar.”
—Abraham Lincoln.
2. “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.”
—Mark Twain.
3. “The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a
thousandfold.”—Aristotle
4. “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick
themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.”
—Winston Churchill
So what does the Bible say? Are there any examples of people lying and it turned out to be a good thing?
The first encounter of lying took place in the OT, Genesis 3:4-7, 22. Satan was tempting Eve to disbelieve and disobey God’s command to not eat from the tree in the center of the Garden of Eden. Satan was tempting Eve to disbelieve and disobey God’s command to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Satan told Eve, “Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?” He went on to tell a half-truth, “You will not surely die…your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.”
Satan was half right. Their eyes were “opened,” and they did not immediately die. But the half-truth was still a lie. Jesus said, “Satan has no truth in him, “He is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).
One example of a good outcome, even through a lie was stated, is the story of Rahab in Joshua 2:4-6. She hid the Israeli spies in Jericho from the King and soldiers of Jericho. She lied to save the lives of the Jewish soldiers. Rahab and her family were spared when Israel did conquer this city. In Hebrews 11 Rahab is mentioned in the hall of fame. By faith her life and family were saved.
The next example from the OT is very interesting. Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife in Gen 12:11-20; 20:1-12. Isaac did the same. He lied about Rebecca being his wife (Gen 26:7). In both cases God had to intervene to save Abraham and Isaac.
Exodus 20:16 and Deuteronomy 5:20 are not commands that forbid lying. The Scripture says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This statement is made in the context of justice and a legal system. Any false testimony would do great harm in a court of law. The justice of God requires everyone to tell the truth in a court of law. If a lie is told, the person can be found guilty of perjury and sentenced to jail and fined.
Proverbs 21:6 enjoins, “The acquisition of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit of death.” Truth is the only way to advance in God’s kingdom.
I almost forgot lying by the Hebrew midwives who kept the Jewish boys alive after they were delivered, but lied to Pharaoh and his servants about this.
Several comments come from this question. Nowhere in the Bible are we to assume that lying is a good thing. In fact, Revelation 21:8 says that liars and the ungodly will be in the lake of fire forever.
Is lying ever justified? I believe so. In cases of war, danger of murder and criminal acts make me believe one can and should lie to save and preserve life. A person who is trying to deceive a would-be murderer or an enemy on a field of battle or even a home invader trying to steal, rape or murder, is justified in not telling the whole truth.
My favorite story of Corrie Ten Boom has to do with her lying to her German guards in prison camp during WWII. She told the guards there were lice in the barracks to keep the guards out, to allow them to study Scripture, and for personal security. It was only a half-lie—there were some lice in that barracks.
Lying is acceptable only to stop evil. In all other cases we must tell the truth.
We know that God is truth, and His Word is truth. He cannot lie. God does not favor lying and does not tolerate sin. God does not endorse “white lies”.
If I am to grow in Christlikeness, then I am commanded at all times to tell the truth!
Few people will ever be put in Rahab’s, or the Hebrew midwives’, or even Corrie Ten Boom’s position.
As a powerful encouragement, I would ask you to consider Dante’s epic poem, “Inferno” (Italian for Hell). He wrote about an imaginary trip where he went thru hell on his way to Paradise (Heaven). In hell, he found nine different layers or circles that went downward. He wrote about everything from lust to gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud, and treason. Treason was the bottom of hell. Next to last was lying. For Dante, writing in the 14th century, lying was totally unacceptable for a believer in Christ.
If we “change” because of God’s Word in our hearts, how do you see lying in our culture?
God Bless,
Woody
GOODY FROM WOODY
If I mention his name, what picture comes to your mind? Satan!!! If you are like a lot of people, you’re thinking of an image that is not Biblical. If you are thinking of a man in a red pair of P.J.’s with a tail and horns on his head and a three-pronged pitchfork (trident), you would be in error.
So where did we get this idea of Satan as a more or less cartoon character? During the middle ages the pastors and priests and church leaders who worked mostly with people who could not read or write decided to make fun of Satan through their teaching, preaching, and even their art. The leaders of the church knew Satan fell from his place in heaven as an archangel because he wanted to usurp God as the one who is worshipped (Satan’s pride). Hence to poke fun of or jest or demean Satan as a man in a red suit etc. was born. The only problem with this idea was that by the second generation and following, the image remained without an explanation.
The Bible tells us that Satan is an angel created by God, the most powerful of the angels (the three most powerful being Michael, Gabriel, and Satan—first called in the Scripture, Lucifer). Satan was, according to Scripture, created a perfect being. He is described as originally being wise and completely righteous (cf Ezek 28:12-18). He is described in the Bible as beautiful (cf Ezek 28:12-18, esp. “your heart was lifted up because of your beauty”).
Rebellion followed this disclosure by Satan and he and one third of the angels of heaven followed Satan and were expelled from God’s presence. They later showed up after God created the world and Adam and Eve. Satan did what he always does—he gave the temptation to disbelieve and disobey God, to Eve. He convinced Eve that she could “become like God” (Gen 3:3-5). Eve fell for the trap and enticed Adam to follow. Eve was deceived and Adam was willful in rebellion. The curse that God put on people, the earth, and the cosmos is now part of our everyday life.
So Woody, why write on Satan? The answer is easy to explain. In North America only 27% of adults actually believe Satan is real. Less than 40% of born-again adults believe that Satan is real. This means 60-73 % of adults do not believe Satan is real. (Barna Resources)
To their credit the people of the Middles Ages at least knew they had an enemy, even if they portrayed him in a red suit, horns, pitchfork and tail. They were attempting to learn how to defend themselves against the archenemy of our souls.
As a former military officer I can tell you, if I were fighting a foe and they did not believe that I was real, I would win that battle with no difficulty—every principle of warfare I could use to defeat a person. The principles of warfare adopted by our U.S. military in 1921 have not changed much over the years. They are:
1) Objective: What is the defined goal
2) Offensive action: Seize the initiative
3) Surprise: enough said
4) Economy of force: focused resources
5) Security: never tell your enemy what you are doing
6) Mobility: work for the enemy’s disadvantage
7) Cooperation: all for one, one for all
Every principle people use to fight wars, Satan uses on us. Think of how he uses each principle and you’ll be wise. How can you defeat this enemy of our souls? If you are a Christian and you don’t believe Satan is real, ask yourself, “How can I believe God or His Word, the Bible, and not believe what the Bible teaches?” In short, you don’t believe in your heart what God says. That would be a fatal flaw in your life. (Read 2 Thes 2:3-5.)
C.S. Lewis wrote the book, The Screw Tape Letters, in 1942. The book is about a senior demon “Screwtape” giving advice to his nephew, also a demon (junior demon) named Wormwood. Lewis, thru these characters, gave advice to be sure “The patient” was forever damned—separated from God for eternity.
Lewis wrote in the preface, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence (where most Americans are today). The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They (the demons) are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
Two major helps for the believer are these instructions from the Word:
1) 1 Peter 5:8, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. “
May I remind you it is the old lion that roars, not the young ones. So when the old lion roars, he is trying to scare you to run from him and into the jaws of the young powerful lions. Be on the alert!!
2) James 4:7 says, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
Two applications:
§ The first part of the Scripture says to submit to God. That means your mind, your thoughts, your body, work, marriage and goals. Turn them all over to our Great God. Stay in the Word and pray!
§ Resist the devil. Avoid people, places and things that lead to temptation.
Lastly, Satan shows up daily to take the joy out of Christian’s lives. We must put on our military armor (Eph 6:10-19) and remember that Satan is a defeated foe. Jesus said in Luke 10:18-20, “And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven."
God Bless,
Woody
P.S. For extra credit, go back and reread Martin Luther’s hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”, especially if you feel weak, vulnerable, or harassed. The truth of this hymn will greatly encourage you.
GOODY FROM WOODY
Do you see the linkage of evil with evil leaders? I have been comparing Adolph Hitler, who died April 30, 1945, by a self-inflicted shot to his head with Osama bin Laden who died less than 24 hours and sixty years later, with a shot to the head by a Navy Seal during a power struggle.
When Hitler first came to office, he wrote in his journal, “This evening I have made a covenant with Satan.” (From archives printed in Hitler, the Scourge of Europe.) The “prince of darkness” really was in league with Hitler and others like the Ottoman Empire killing 1.1 million Armenians in 1915, the slaughter of Rwandan people by Tutsi in 1994, Pol Pot in Cambodia, Joseph Stalin in Russia, Idi Amin in Uganda—all could be added to the list of evil leaders in league with the prince of darkness.
Osama bin Laden, like Hitler, believed all problems had their origin in the Jewish people. They both called Jewish people evil. How ironic! Bin Laden called the West, especially the U.S. and Israel, evil!!
The Mastermind of 9/11, Bin Laden, died and all people should pause to thank God that he is no longer around to do more evil.
It is interesting to read the headlines for May 3, 2011: The New York Times stated, “Bin Laden killed by U.S. Forces in Pakistan, Obama says, declaring Justice has been done.”
As a Christian reading this headline, how should I think about this moral action? Here are my thoughts:
1. This evil leader is dead, and that is a great accomplishment, according to our understanding of a “just war theory.” (This theory is a great historic Christian understanding of how we reason and measure the justification of lethal acts of force in warfare.)
2. Osama bin Laden, like Hitler, created great tragedy for all the people he killed. Hitler killed six million people. Osama, left to his plans and desires, aspired to do the same or something similar. Thanks to the Navy Seals, that threat is gone. Al Qaeda, Osama’s organization, is still a huge threat. He organized this terrorist group in 60 different parts of the world.
3. God says in Ezekiel 33:11, “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?” Having been a soldier in combat, my response to Osama’s death is I am thankful the evil leader is gone, but I’m not happy about it, sober and pensive but not celebrating.
4. The subject of war produces different thoughts for Christians. If we believe in a “just war theory” then we use force to eventually create a culture for peace. War is the absence of peace. That is never our goal. But in a fallen world where sin exists, it becomes necessary from time to time to protect people from destruction by evil leaders. If war is the absence of peace, then evil is the absence of good and God is the ultimate “Good.” God calls us to be peacemakers and follow His Son in order to do good. James 4:1-2 says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.”
5. Lastly, a word about justice. Bin Laden did not receive justice. He experienced death. Justice comes from natural and divine law. It is placed in our hearts by God and that’s why we know right and wrong and ethics. Our founding U.S. documents reflected this thinking. Justice is based on law. That means when a person breaks the law, they are arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced. Even in a combat theater there is military justice that can be carried out based on law. (Uniform Code of Military Justice, The Constitution allowed congress to create this type of law in the military—Article 1, Section 8.) Bin Laden’s death robbed us of this opportunity. But where he is now he knows he will still stand trial in a higher court for his evil and God will have the final and last word.
According to the Bible, we are in a spiritual war more than a carnal war and here are Paul’s words to us: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
2 Cor 10:3-5
God Bless,
Woody
