One of Satan's Favorite Songs

If you choose to "do life" using your own wits and strength, you will end up making the same mistake that Satan made. It actually got him kicked out of heaven. Frank Sinatra sang the anthem "I Did It My Way." That song might be on Satan's Top Ten list. It's message is subtle and seemingly harmless. It even sounds admirable. Therein lies it's devastating power.

Lucifer's choice to live independently of God was his demise. For those of you who don't know, Satan was originally known in heaven as Lucifer. He was an archangel. There are three archangels mentioned in the Bible. Gabriel is the messenger of God, he told Mary that she would give birth to Jesus. Michael is the general of the angelic army. He is seen in scripture fighting against fallen angels, also called demons. Lucifer, the Bible teaches, was responsible for the worship of God. He was beautiful and full of light.

In the book of Isaiah, Lucifer said "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God..." In his heart, he chose to believe that he could go his own way. He thought himself to be self-sustaining and no longer needing God for his life. His began to look at his own beauty, wisdom, and strength. Instead of being humbled and grateful for God's work in his life, he became proud. For this, he was thrown out of heaven and down to Earth, banished from the presence of God forever.

On Earth, Lucifer, taking the form of a talking serpent, tempted Eve by saying "When you eat the fruit...your eyes will be opened and you will be like God..." Did you catch that subtle move there? Your eyes will be opened. The presupposition is that Eve's eyes were closed and that God knew about it. "He is purposely keeping you in the dark" is what the serpent is really saying. Lucifer tells Eve to "Break free and do your own thing. Be independent." She did. Adam followed. We have been doing the same thing ever since.

Cain brought the work of his own effort to please God and God rejected it. Adam and Eve's sons, Cain and Abel are infamous for being part of the first murder in human history. Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. Abel worshiped God by killing the first-born of one of his flock. Cain worshiped God by offering harvested fruit and grains to Him.

Abel's offering symbolized the death of Christ on the cross - the Lamb of God that takes away our sin. The animal was killed. It's blood was spilled. Cain's offering was the result of his own sweat and work. After rejecting Cain's offering, God spoke to him "Why are you so upset? If you give me the right offering, I will be pleased." Instead, Cain was jealous and angry with Abel. He ultimately killed his brother.

Shouldn't God have been happy? At least they were both worshipping, weren't they? Look closer. Cain's offering was out of his own effort. Abel's offering was from the sacrifice of something else. One is based on independent human effort. The other is giving God what He asks for and trusting that it's enough.

Religion is man's attempt to please God. Christianity is God's work alone. God reaches into history and sends His Son to die for our sins. We do not deserve the goodness, mercy, and love of God.  The opposite was true - mankind ignored Him, mistreated each other, and rejected all of His attempts at getting our attention. It has nothing to do with our effort or promises to be good in the future. We simply put our faith and trust in His love and mercy demonstrated in the broken, bleeding Son of God on the cross, taking our punishment for us so our relationship with God could be restored.

Independence versus dependence. They have always been at war. Remember, it was the religious leaders who schemed to kill Jesus. It is interesting, isn't it, that the Bible says that Satan entered into Judas to betray Jesus to the religious leaders? He seems to always be lurking around the independent spirit in man, pouring fuel on the fire.

A life lived without depending on and trusting God puts you in the same boat with Satan. "God rejects the proud, He gives grace to the humble."  From the time we are children, everything in us wants to do things our own way, powered by our own wisdom and strength: "Look what I can do." We strive for financial security through networking and education. Workaholics are praised and admired. Stories about "pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps" are best sellers and leave us inspired when the movie comes out.

"I....did ittt....  myyyyy....wayyyyy..." Can you hear it? You look around at the career you have built by working and going to school as a single mom. You started at a job beneath what your male ego said you deserved and worked your way up. You think of the sacrifices you have made to climb the ladder of success. As you look at your beautiful home far from the scary neighborhood you used to live in, slide into the soft leather seats of your luxury car, raise the steaming cup of premium coffee to your lips, hear the booming bass and digital clarity oozing from the Bose sound system, it hits you. You made it. Did you catch that? You made it.

It's sneaky isn't it? How could this be a bad thing? It's the American Dream, right? Should we be lazy and mooch off others? The achievement isn't the killer. The pride is. Pride intoxicates like alcohol or drugs. It distorts reality. Pride has you believing you did it on your own. And, man, it feels so good.

The smirk. The knowing glance as you nod your head and say "Oh yeah, I did this. My work paid off." Right there, the seed of independence is planted. "If I did this? What else am I capable of? Sky's the limit, baby!" Look at the language. Who does that sound like?

Lucifer smiles. "See, I told you that you could do it. I have been saying the same thing for millennia. We don't need God. We got this."

The Bible teaches that no one will be able to brag in God's presence that they did anything on their own. "In Him we live and move and have our being." Even Jesus, who showed us what humanity was supposed to look like, said "By myself I can do nothing." Read that again. This is God, in the flesh, saying this. In the Garden of Gethsemane, before His death, He says "...not my will but your will be done." Jesus trusted God. "Even though He was God, He did not use it for His own advantage. He gave up His divine privileges and became nothing - a slave - and obeyed God even to death on a cross."

Abraham trusted God. Moses trusted God. Noah trusted God. David trusted God. It's like God is trying to make sure there would never be another Lucifer. Salvation comes by faith. The attitude is, basically, "Without you, God, I can do nothing. I am utterly, completely dependent on you. My food, future, and family come from you." Just like a tree must be connected to the soil to survive and thrive, we must must be connected to God. Break the connection and it's over.

So what will it be? Are you going to figure it out, chase the paper, and get all you deserve? Or will you stop depending on your own understanding, seek God's will first, find pleasure in God's presence, and trust Him to care for all of your needs?

One thing is certain, Lucifer will be looking for his next opportunity with you. "You got this..."