December 30

Satan, the Crooked Mechanic

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.  ––John 8:44

If you’ve ever been ripped off by a dishonest auto mechanic, you know how frustrating and infuriating it can be. $300 for a new “Johnson rod,” only to find out much later that there is no such thing? Yeah, it’s the worst. Satan is a crooked mechanic, always looking to pop the hood of our spiritual lives and mess around. We have titles for the tinkering of Satan and the malfunctions he causes:

Materialism: One who has bad relationships because they worship inanimate objects without souls or emotions. My Mercedes and my money can’t give me a hug, laugh, cry, or be hurt by stupidity. Things are safe to love because they require no character, but unsafe for your soul because they are soulless.

Hedonism: One who has bad relationships because they pimp people, seeing them ultimately as objects of—or a means of—achieving self-gratification. No one I have ever known enjoys being prostituted for someone else’s high. Hedonists love “feelings” or physical sensations or risky behaviors.

Narcissism: One who thinks life’s all about them. They are the god of their life: relational narcissism is an oxymoron. All of their relationships are meant to reflect back on them in a positive way. You can’t be addicted to yourself, your appearance, your titles, and your control over others, and genuinely serve someone else’s needs.

Satan will dress up these rip-offs in powerful ways; he pops the hood and suggests things we don’t need that will give him the profit. He suggests and we buy it. Same ol’ story … remember Eve? Everything we buy begins with thoughts that are suggested under our hoods. Our mind is a wonderful thing when it is properly cared for by the right mechanic.

By the way, I got a guy. Everybody’s got a guy. My guy is the perfect Mechanic because He built my engine.

Father, thank You for the thoughts You provide for me to buy.