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The devil is not just the devil of wickedness. He's the devil of
laziness. He's the devil of excuses. He's the devil of prevarication, of
putting off till tomorrow what should be done today.
Many times I have said, and many times I have heard it said, that 'my
motives aren't right'. The upshot of the statement being that I
shouldn't do a certain thing, or go to a certain place, or see a certain
person, because my heart isn't correct in the matter. I must postpone it
and wait until my volition comes into line with a level of virtue I do
not yet have, but just maybe, I might have it in the future.
God is not bothered about such things. Along with our festering mind and
wayward spirit, He says give me your rotten intentions too. Give me your
motives, what you have purposed in your dark heart to do - and turn up.
All you gotta do is turn up!
You see the devil uses your lack of virtue as an excuse. He says you are
not holy and righteous but scheming and rotten. He is speaking the truth
in order to float one big lie, that God cannot accept us with our
failings, that we have to scrub ourselves clean before thinking of
knocking on his door.
The devil tells me my motives must be right, otherwise I am a hypocrite!
But hang on - How come I am speaking with him about it anyway? And what
was Eve doing in the garden having a pow-wow with him? Passing the time
of day chatting with the serpent? Discussing the weather, gossiping
about the neighbours, just chewing the cud over the garden fence - but
with the enemy of mankind's soul?
The fact is the serpent is in the garden. The devil is in God's perfect
garden. Although how he got there I don't know. He was talking to Eve
back then and often I catch him talking to me!
The devil is a liar. Not because he tells little untruths, he doesn't.
He builds a case upon facts you cannot deny. It's true. I am not
righteous or virtuous. I am scheming and selfish. But if God is who He
says He is, He says come to me as you are, along with your lousy
motives, I can sort out your heart if you bring it to me. God says all
you gotta do is turn up!
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