\u201cYou will not certainly die,\u201d the serpent said to the woman.\u201cFor God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.\u201d (Genesis 3:4-5)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\tThe serpent casts doubt into the mind of Eve, convincing her that God was holding back on her: that in fact, God did not really love her or want what was best for her, since he has forbidden her something that is \u201cbeneficial.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIs this then an indication of one of Satan\u2019s core beliefs about God? <\/p>\n
\tConsider what he says about Job when he approaches God in his throne room: \u201cDoes Job fear God for nothing?\u201d Satan replied. \u201cHave you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.\u201d (Job 1:9-11)<\/p>\n
\tIn both the words to Eve and the words spoken to God, Satan betrays his fundamental doubt of both God\u2019s goodness and his love. Satan believes God \u201cloves\u201d only as he gets something out of it. He believes that God is just as selfish as the creatures made in his image are. It is a belief that Satan has seeded into the hearts of people: he planted it in the mother of us all so that it infects the entire species. Satan does not believe that God is good and he does not believe that he loves anyone. He expresses this thought to Eve and she decides to accept his belief as the truth. The consequences of believing and then acting upon that belief were devastating for Eve and Adam and for the human race.<\/p>\n
\tA question that arises at this point (which may be unanswerable) is an obvious one. Does Satan believe what he told Eve? Does he, in fact, believe that God was withholding something good and worthwhile–that he did, indeed, not have Adam and Eve\u2019s best interests in mind? Or was Satan simply trying to create havoc for havoc\u2019s sake\u2014vandalizing the creation for no other reason than to create chaos?<\/p>\n
\tIf the latter is true, we still have to wonder why he would do that? Why would he want to harm Adam and Eve? What motivated him to destroy? <\/p>\n
\tOr, does Satan actually believe deeply that God is less than good, that he has a selfish agenda? That he withholds something from his creatures because he fears that they will become like him? After all, that is something the serpent itself tells Eve. <\/p>\n
\tOn the other hand, the Bible tells us that Satan has \u201cno truth in him\u201d and that \u201cwhen he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.\u201d (see John 8:44) and so it is unreasonable to simply accept what Satan says at face value. Based on Jesus\u2019 statement, if the Devil told me the sky was blue, I\u2019d be wise to poke my head out a window and double-check.<\/p>\n
\tLiars\u2014especially good ones\u2014do not tell only<\/em> fibs. The truth tends to get mixed with the lies. And liars generally lie for the purpose of self-preservation, out of fear that something bad will happen if the truth comes out. The child caught sneaking cookies from a cookie jar lies not out of maliciousness, but out of fear of punishment. People generally love themselves, but are afraid that no one else does. They think that the truth will make people love them less, or that they will stop loving them altogether. My oldest daughter was four before she understood that when she was disciplined it did not mean that we had stopped loving her, or that our love for her was dependent upon how she behaved. Our discipline of her, in fact, was a result of our love for her.<\/p>\n \tI think that what Satan believes is that when it comes to love, God’s love is conditional. I don’t think the Devil understands that love\u2014real love\u2014exists: love that loves regardless of the behavior of the beloved. Notice that when he talks with God about Job, he believes, without any apparent doubt, that Job\u2019s love for God was entirely conditional: dependent upon Job continuing to be blessed by God. He was certain that as soon as Job suffered, he would turn against God and curse him\u2014just as he and Job\u2019s friends were certain that God\u2019s love was expressed only when blessings flowed and life was good. Like Satan, therefore, Job\u2019s friends think that God\u2019s love is conditional. The advent of suffering, in both Satan\u2019s mind and the mind of Job\u2019s friends, was proof of God\u2019s disfavor: of the withdrawing of God\u2019s love. Satan was therefore certain that Job could not respond to God but in kind: that Job would withdraw his love and curse him instead.<\/p>\n \tSo why does the Devil do what he does? What motivates him?<\/p>\n \tWell, why do you do what you do? Why do you think Satan would be any different than you? <\/p>\n \tHe is a limited, fallen creature. He differs from you in but one essential as far as we can see from the Bible: he is not mortal. Is he corporeal? If the \u201csons of God\u201d in Genesis 6 are angels, then they\u2014and he\u2014are corporeal enough to successfully mate with human beings. We see other angels eating (cf. Genesis 17-18 and the \u201cthree men\u201d for whom Abraham prepared a meal; they didn\u2019t leave until after eating). \tAnd again: why do you?<\/p>\n \tFirst, simple self-interest. I do what I do because I derive pleasure from it. It’s fun. It helps me. I gain something from it. It helps those who are important to me (and they are important to me because I derive pleasure from them.) Second, I do what I do because it is, for some reason, important to me. I believe in it\u2014which is why I share my faith, attend church, vote, participate in community activities and give to charities. It is why people give themselves for others or a cause. Though to be cynical about it, even giving for others, ultimately, may be due to the perceived benefit for oneself: self-esteem, helping others helps me, it\u2019s fun, and so on.<\/p>\n \tSatan does not really believe in selfless love. Satan is certain that God is mostly concerned about the rules, and that God\u2019s favor is based on performance. Likewise, he is certain that the only reason human beings obey God is because they believe that by so doing, they will receive a blessing from God. <\/p>\n \tSatan probably wonders sometimes whether even that common human belief is justified. It appears, in fact, that Satan doubts God\u2019s ultimate goodness and suspects, or perhaps is convinced, that God is only interested in what he can get for himself: that God\u2019s motivation in how he treats people is in how they treat him. And Satan would not be unreasonable for thinking that way, since most people\u2019s relationships are founded on just that point of view.<\/p>\n \tAfter all, we spend time with people who are nice to us. If my neighbor spits in my face every time I talk to him, chances are I’ll stop talking to him. If someone is always mean to me, chances are I\u2019m not going to go out of my way to be nice to him. If someone invites me to dinner, I\u2019ll feel obligated to invite her to dinner. And so on. Satan understands how people behave; he\u2019s had lots of experience over the years. It\u2019s how the world works. It is how he works. Thus, his statement to God when he talks about Job, that Job will curse God if God takes away all his stuff, his family, and his health (see Job 1:9-11), is based on his experience with other human beings and how they relate to each other. It is also based, quite frankly, on his own motivations, which seem no different from that of human beings. He sees himself in us.<\/p>\n Some of my thoughts about the Devil are as follows: The apostle James comments that demons believe in one God \u201cand tremble\u2019 (James 2:19). One obvious thing about Satan, therefore, is that he is not an atheist. He knows there … Continue reading
\n\tSo again: why does Satan act the way he does? <\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/nettelhorst.com\/blog1\/wp-content\/plugins\/send-to-kindle\/media\/white-15.png\")
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