For those of you who are as old as I am, you probably remember Flip Wilson, a comedian who had his own hugely successful comedy variety show on television back in the 70s. He played host to some of the most famous entertainers of the time, including The Jackson Five and The Temptations. He greeted all of his guests with the Flip Wilson Handshake ... four hand slaps, two elbow bumps and two hip bumps. Flip created several comedic characters, and his most popular was Geraldine Jones ... a wise-cracking gal whose line, "The devil made me do it," became a national expression, one that is repeated even today more than 40 years later. You see, Geraldine was forever and always doing or saying or thinking things that she shouldn't, and she seemed to always get caught when she did. As much as I can remember, Geraldine never took responsibility for misbehaving ... she blamed the devil for anything she did wrong.
While Mr. Wilson's characterization of Geraldine was comedic in nature and elicited laughter from his audience and great praise from his peers, there's a very serious lesson to be gleaned from the famous line, "The devil made me do it." We make jokes about the devil causing us to participate in ungodly behavior, but I believe we grossly underestimate just how cunning and deceptive Satan really is. I've often heard it said that Satan cares way more about those of us who have a personal relationship with Christ than those who don't ... he's already got the unbelievers in his grasp, and he would like nothing more than to destroy the faith of the ones who follow after God.
I've learned a lot over the last couple of years about various doctors ... way more than I ever wanted to for sure. Every time I'm sent to a different type of physician, it always strikes me that each one of them has a particular line of medicine they specialize in, and I often wonder how they chose which specialty to study. The ear, nose and throat guy I see doesn't ever check my A1C, and the endocrinologist never looks in my ears. The orthopedic surgeon didn't ask about my state of mind, and the counselor doesn't insist that I have a cortisone injection in my shoulder. Just as each doctor specializes in a different field, I think Satan specializes in attacking Christians, and I think he's more than sneaky in the weapons he chooses to use against us. For me, I know where he gets me, where there are chinks in my armor, and how he zings his fiery arrows straight for those spots. He's a master at distorting and twisting the truth as he attempts to negate God's plan for holy living that is laid out in His Word. There is none that can best him in creating dissension and strife among believers as he tries to pit us against one another through criticism, judgment and anger. And he's a genius in planting doubt, fear, guilt and shame within our hearts in his effort to destroy us from the inside out and make us believe that our sin is too great to be forgiven.
There's an old song that talked about "the devil in blue jeans," and I think there is a ton of truth in those words. He certainly isn't a cartoon character dressed in a red suit with horns and a pitchfork. The devil is ... well ... he is exactly who God's Word says he is.
"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world." 1 Peter 5:8-9
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