Today, I want to continue talking about spiritual warfare and specifically, I want to dispel a few of the myths that you may have heard about the devil.

When you think about Satan, do you picture red tights, horns, and a pitchfork? I have news for you — that is not accurate! I don’t believe Hollywood’s depiction of him (think The Exorcist) is true either. He is not nasty, ugly and scary; in fact, he is actually very beautiful, attractive, and seductive in his ways. C.S. Lewis talks a lot about the adversary in his book “The Screwtape Letters,” which is basically the dialogue between two demons, Screwtape and Wormwood. While Wormwood is the young novice demon, Screwtape is the arch-demon who is training his apprentice in the ways of Satan. Specifically, they have their sights set on a young British man and are attempting to get him on the road to perdition and steer him away from his faith. My favorite quote in the book is when the older, wiser demon says to his young nephew, “The fact that devils are predominantly comic figures in the modern imagination will help you. When any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that (it is an old textbook method of confusing him) he therefore cannot believe in you.” You see, Satan was created by God to do good, and maybe he did; maybe he was so good, so beautiful, and so attractive that he thought he could do a better job than his Maker. Whatever the case, since he was called the morning star, it is safe to assume that he was beautiful and that he didn’t have the appearance of evil; this is why he was able to be so cunning and deceptive.

Friend, not all evil or destructive things look that way, which is why it’s important to stay connected to the Holy Spirit within you! You have a friend, an advocate, and One who will light your path and give you wisdom whenever you need it. Jesus wants to help you, and His promise to deliver you from the devil’s temptations still stands, today and always! Isn’t that great news?