The Pride of the Devil

This is Day 2 of my 40 day Lenten Blog.

The angel Lucifer was perfect in his beauty, and shone like the morning star. He was full of wisdom and walked in the presence of God. But his beauty and his wisdom got the better of him. His heart was filled with pride at his own glory and he proclaimed that he would ascend above God and set his throne above all creation.

Lucifer was not alone in his aspirations of greatness. Pride filled the hearts of a third of the angels and they joined Lucifer in rebellion against the Most High. But Lucifer and his legions were defeated by Heaven's Armies led by Michael the archangel, and the Lord cast them out of Heaven.

Lucifer and his minions fell to Earth where they laid claim to this world to rule it as their own. Their pride and darkness of heart twisted them from the beautiful angelic beings God had created into dark, hideous demons. Their wickedness and violence grew in force as their evil conquered our world.

The world still belongs to these demonic princes. Their mark is everywhere to be seen. Their wickedness infects the whole of God's perfect creation. Their darkness even resides inside of me. I can feel it creeping in my heart. Sometimes it is suppressed. Other times if springs forth like a legion of goblins from the gates of Mordor.

This is the war, the real war. This is the war each of us must fight individually and collectively. Most will surrender to the demonic rulers of this world, and will bow down and worship them by worshiping their own desires, their own will, their own violence, their own pride.

A few will continue to resist until they draw their last breath. But the battle will be difficult and seemingly never-ending. To resist the darkness means never letting one's guard down even for a second. It is exhausting and sometimes maddening. And no man or woman is strong enough to do it. Not alone, anyway.

Only by the grace of God can anyone successfully repel the advances of the enemy. He will help us. He will send legions of angels to defend us. But the fight will rage on. It will often appear hopeless. It will be so easy to just give in, to join the enemy, to submit to our own desires, our own will, our own anger.

If we just give in, our own pride can reach the heights of Lucifer's. Like him we can set our throne up above creation. And from those heights we can look down on the world we rule and glory in our own splendor. At least, until we fall. Then we shall tumble down from our high perch like our father the devil, into the fiery pit that awaits all who worship themselves.

The pride of the devil is the most alluring temptation that exists. It's siren call is almost impossible to resist. But the love and grace of God contains the real beauty of creation. Nothing worth having is attained easily, and the reward of an eternity staring into the face of God requires constant struggle and submission to His will. We cannot do it without Him. Stop struggling. Give in, not to the devil, but to the Lord.

R.C. VanLandingham is the author of the Peter Puckett series, a Christian children's fantasy that explores what it means to know and love Christ through exciting adventures.His books and blog can be found at rcvanlandingham.com.