August 17, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"Pride the Root of All Sin… "
Ezekiel 28:17
English Standard Version
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings to feast their eyes on you.
Most often the devil is grotesquely depicted in his notorious red suit, complete with horns and carrying a pitchfork, ready to pitch sinners into the burning cauldron of hell. Unfortunately, that improbable caricature of the devil has encouraged many to completely dismiss the reality behind the devil. As we know, the devil took on the form of a serpent in Eden. And although we are not told in what form he appeared when tempting Jesus, it is not likely he was wearing a red suit! To speak of "the devil" is to speak of Satan, that great tempter and adversary whose ultimate torment in the "lake of fire" is vividly described in Revelation. Yet for all we know about Satan, there is much more we do not know. In all his “roaming about the earth," is he omnipresent like God? Does he have such power over us that anyone can legitimately say, “The devil made me do it"? And if Satan really was a rebellious "fallen angel," why would God permit him the power to do whatever he does!
As generally assumed, Ezekiel's description of the ruler of Tyre contains an oblique reference to Satan. What the ruler of Tyre had in common with Satan was the sin of pride, which in Satan's case apparently was born of beauty and splendor. But whatever his appearance, the crucial thing about Satan is that the epitomizes pride. If knowing about Satan helps us understand anything at all, it is that pride always leads to destruction. Maybe that is why God permits Satan to exist-to be a visual image reminding us of how far we too can fall if we let pride get out of control.
The bedeviling question is: Do I obsessively see the devil behind every sin or perhaps foolishly never consider the effect of his evil in my life?
