My Worst Enemy

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and wanted to share this with you. I used to blame a lot of things that happened to me on Satan, the devil, Lucifer, whatever you want to call him, but I have come to the conclusion that he is definitely not my worst enemy. Just to clarify who or what Satan is let’s take a look at a portion of an article I read recently, it’s only a couple of paragraphs.

1Satan was created as a holy angel. Isaiah 14:12 possibly gives Satan’s pre-fall name as Lucifer. Ezekiel 28:12-14 describes Satan as having been created a cherubim, apparently the highest created angel. He became arrogant in his beauty and status and decided he wanted to sit on a throne above that of God (Isaiah 14:13-14; Ezekiel 28:15; 1 Timothy 3:6). Satan’s pride led to his fall. Notice the many “I will” statements in Isaiah 14:12-15. Because of his sin, God barred Satan from heaven.

Satan became the ruler of this world that functions apart from God and the prince of the power of the air (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2). He is an accuser (Revelation 12:10), a tempter (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5), and a deceiver (Genesis 3; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:3). His very name means adversary or “one who opposes.” Another name used Satan, the devil, means “slanderer.”

Even though he was cast out of heaven, he still seeks to elevate his throne above God. He counterfeits all that God does, hoping to gain the worship of the world and foment opposition to God's kingdom. Satan is the ultimate source behind every false cult and world religion. Satan will do anything and everything in his power to oppose God, and those who follow God. However, Satan’s destiny is sealed—an eternity in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10)

Satan is a pretty sad dude, right? He sounds a lot more like a human screwing up like that, rather than an angel.

I heard this quote recently by John Piper, “no one goes to hell because of Satan. They go to hell because of SIN.” With that being said, that has to mean that my worst enemy would have to be me, Joey Acker. We all have a war going on within ourselves. If you say you don’t then you are just being deceived. Proof of my war is that I have a conscience. I know if something is wrong. Every time I have sinned it has been my fault alone. Can Satan tempt us? Of course, but who makes the ultimate decision? My new perspective on making choices is when I come across a situation no matter how small I don’t ask if it is bad, I ask if it is truly good, can I use it to glorify/honor God. When we ask if something is bad we trick ourselves into justifying it because we are selfish by nature. I’m guilty! That’s why I ask myself if something is truly good now.

Here’s an analogy…I’m going to use cookies as an example, because they’re awesome and they taste good. We all love food, right? If there are 20 cookies sitting in front of me I am extremely tempted to eat them, all of them (I used to be a fat kid)! If I eat them do I blame the cookies or me? All silliness aside, how is that any different than when we sin against God, the one who gave us life?

So is it Satan’s fault or ours that we sin? In a weird, but cool way, I grow from temptations. Is that why Satan exists, for us to grow closer to God through his pathetic temptations against us? It’s evident in our lives that we grow from hard-times. You can see it in our bodies, plants, animals, human experiences, and other things in this life. We grow back stronger and better than before if we choose to!

That is how I view Satan, as a temptation to our world and ourselves. I am much more scared of myself than him. I am 100 percent certain I am not going to hell. When I go to Heaven I want God to know I did the best I could to be close to Him and serve Him. I do not want to make him upset or disappointed with me. Our God is awesome, loving, and don’t forget that He’s our judge!

In closing, can we ask ourselves if we are truly making the best choices in our short life in this world, or are we making excuses for our short comings?

May God bless you!

Joey Acker