I don’t know if hell has a PR department, but if they do, they’ve done a bang up job of getting satan worked out of the modern Christian vernacular.
I didn’t realize this until recently. In my attempts to be a relevant, culturally aware, cool Christian, I’ve virtually eliminated any mention of satan from my conversations. I’ll talk all day about building community or how to use social media to grow social justice, but satan? That guy gets a free pass.
In almost 700 posts on Stuff Christians Like I’ve only mentioned him seriously maybe 5 times. Here are the posts I’ve written that really reference him …
#206. Putting the devil “on notice.”
#247. A bizarre relationship with CAPITALIZATION. (which explains the lowercase s I keep using)
That seems like a tremendous oversight in some ways. And maybe you’re the same way. When was the last time you and your Christian friends talked about satan or lucifer or the enemy? I feel like to some degree, I associate satan with old school Bible beaters. He’s part of the previous, sweaty generation, but not mine. And I’ve seen friends make the same assumption with some of the things they’ll tell me:
“As long as you’re happy and communicating in your marriage you’ll never be tempted to have an affair.”
“It’s college, that’s what everyone does in college. I’ll settle down later.”
“I know it’s not age appropriate, but my kids really love that show, so what can I do?”
Those statements aren’t a big deal if we lived in a world where we didn’t have an enemy that was actively and aggressively fighting us. Those statements don’t matter if we didn’t have a force of evil that was delirious with hunger for you.
My dad thinks it’s because we typically like to edit John 10:10. We love to roll around in the second half of that verse. We’ll make mugs and calendars with the last part:
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
But the first half of that verse is a lot less sexy. In fact it’s scary:
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy”
What’s the solution? To tell you the truth, I don’t have an easy fix. But on Stuff Christians Like, I’m declaring today “National Satan Awareness Day.” (I’m not going to lie to you, I was going to write this as National Awareness Day of Satan” just so I could see if I could get a bumper sticker that said, “I’m kickin’ NADS with prayer.” But I’m apparently very mature and was able to resist. Sort of.)
I don’t think we need to obsess on satan, but I think we need to be aware that he’s out there. And I think we need to pray that the protection and peace of a God who is bigger and stronger and already beaten him will continue guiding us.
Comments
LOVE this post. I'm grateful to have grown up in a home where the spiritual battle is recognized and waged. But I'm the recipient of many blank / skeptical / Are You Cuckoo looks when referencing those kinds of issues with most other people in my life.
It's great to remember God is the one whose really fighting the war. It isn't scary anymore!
"We love to roll around in the second half of that verse. We’ll make mugs and calendars with the last part." Classic Jon.
And "NADS" . . . my word. I howled.
good word!
I like your choice for this number. If it had been me, I'd have avoided this number altogether. Really. When I play computer solitaire, I will endgame before allowing three sixes together. Mainly because I try to avoid him. And thinking about him. But you handled this very well.
What, our little Helen has hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia? I'm a little shocked.
I'm not sure I have a phobia…. I do try to avoid stan as much as I can though.
A little warning next time before you write something extremely funny (“I’m kickin’ NADS with prayer.”). Spontaneously bursting out with laughter when you're sitting by yourself in a coffee shop does not help one impress the ladies.
Next time jump up immediately after pop n lock and yell, "just keepin' it real, yo." They will be super impressed and won't be able to keep their eyes off of you.
I will remember that. Though, I am about as gansta as a pocketwatch.
And by "gansta," I mean "gangsta."
Reading The Screwtape Letters helped me a great deal, I think, in respect to my approach to the devils and whatever role they play in my life.
"The myth the western world has adopted – a goofy and practically harmless image in red tights and horns. . ."
A shallow and childish image of demons matches our shallow and childish image of God – which is fine while we are children but many people carry these ideas into adulthood.
In general I appreciate your blog, I really do, but this. Well. This is pure SCL genius. The actual perfect balance of reality and humour. I really think we need to promote Satan (proper noun, he's not destroying grammar for me) awareness through an ironic yet resonant campaign. My mind is whirring, I'll let you know the outcome… Good Job.
Thanks Jon!
I think having every day as 'satan awareness day' would be wise, like it's never a good idea to forget that there is a hungry lion just behind you.
Love you dude
X
Word.
There is definitely an Enemy and he definitely does come to steal, kill and destroy. I was reminded of that clearly today.
I'm becoming more and more aware of Satan's presence. I've always had what I guess falls under the category of "discernment" – I have a sense of things that aren't of God. When something's "just not right," I know it. It's from satan. Once, we were walking behind a couple who had a stroller and a kid. I told my mom, "There's something up there, something definitely not of God. A satanic presence." Once we passed them, I looked back, and they were both wearing pentagrams. My heart hurt so badly for their child.
On Tuesday, my car was broken into, and the thief stole about 80 cds, my backpack, textbooks (they can sell them back to the bookstore right now), and my makeup bag, of all things. I couldn't understand what would make someone do something like that. What makes a person think that I can save up for something, and spend my hard-earned money to get it, and they can just take it from me for free? Anyway, as I was mulling this whole ordeal over, my Dad reminded me that satan had his hand in it. These things don't just happen because there are stupid people out there. They happen because satan is out to steal, kill, and destroy. And anything he can do to thwart the plans of a person of God, he will do. he's out to take our joy. And if we just hand it to him, he's getting the victory. Dad reminded me that my hope is in the Lord, the giver of joy, and that everything I have belongs to Him anyway. "What can man (or satan) do to me??"
thanks for this post. It's a great reminder.
I'm becoming more and more aware of Satan's presence. I've always had what I guess falls under the category of "discernment" – I have a sense of things that aren't of God. When something's "just not right," I know it. It's from satan. Once, we were walking behind a couple who had a stroller and a kid. I told my mom, "There's something up there, something definitely not of God. A satanic presence." Once we passed them, I looked back, and they were both wearing pentagrams. My heart hurt so badly for their child.
On Tuesday, my car was broken into, and the thief stole about 80 cds, my backpack, textbooks (they can sell them back to the bookstore right now), and my makeup bag, of all things. I couldn't understand what would make someone do something like that. What makes a person think that I can save up for something, and spend my hard-earned money to get it, and they can just take it from me for free? Anyway, as I was mulling this whole ordeal over, my Dad reminded me that satan had his hand in it. These things don't just happen because there are stupid people out there. They happen because satan is out to steal, kill, and destroy. And anything he can do to thwart the plans of a person of God, he will do. he's out to take our joy. And if we just hand it to him, he's getting the victory. Dad reminded me that my hope is in the Lord, the giver of joy, and that everything I have belongs to Him anyway. "What can man (or satan) do to me??"
thanks for this post. It's a great reminder.
My grandfather said once, that you can't believe in an Ultimate Good without an Ultimate Evil.
I think it's interesting that Christians try and denounceignore, or at least the existence of "The Devil"… yet Satanists never denouce or ignore the existence of The God. They just get to work and do the bidding of their master in regards to the other.
There's a thought.
Umm… I'll try that again, something weird happened…
My grandfather said once, that you can't believe in an Ultimate Good without an Ultimate Evil.
I think it's interesting that Christians try and denounce or at least ignore the existence of "The Devil"… yet Satanists never denouce or ignore the existence of The God. They just get to work and do the bidding of their master in regards to the other.
There's a thought.
I think we can see the extreme where everything is because of the devil. People who are constantly binding this and binding that. Spiritual warfare seminars and classes. It is easy to go to the opposite extreme (the pendulum effect) where we don't think about Satan at all. That also is dangerous
2 Cor 2:10-11 (NASB) But whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, (11) in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
Eph 6:11-12 (NASB) Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
I don't think he cares what extreme we pick. Whether concentrating on him all the time or not thinking about him at all. The balance is somewhere in the middle.
This is my first time visitng your blog. The bumper sticker is a classic! You should post a warning, though, to people eating or drinking anything while reading this. I almost choked on my pumpin muffin! lol
What a great post…you speak the truth!
[...] have more overall strength. Remember, this is part of the armor against attacks of the evil one, Satan. If we have better balance and strength, we can ward off the discouragement, the condemnation, the [...]
Amen!
I've always been wary of churches that overdo the Satan angle. Especially when the congregation considers university professors and rock stars to be among Satan's minions.
[...] Giving satan a free pass (Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff – @prodigaljohn) [...]
Its never anything huge, its the little things in life that he capitalizes on and sabotages and encourages me to fall farther from God and my faith. Like occupying all my free time (what little there is) with television and books. Putting strain on friendships in my life that drive us apart. I constantly dwell on the fact that I never thought I would be 24, single, living alone, with hardly any friends to speak of. To sum it up, I am missing God in my life, and satan is rejoicing in my misery.
We speak often in our home the ways in which saton tried to sneak in. I am always struck with awe when I hear how little people realize how he has slithered into a sitution. Where you actually have to say things like…"God is not about confusion", but "saton does the confusing and we then blame God". Cool post.
isn't it about time Christians led the way in debunking the myth that Satan will be in control of hell? It isn't his 'domain', its his punishment.