The Devil Dropped In

The devil dropped by for a visit the other day. I have to admit that I hadn't prayed the day before so I wasn't really prepared for guests. He didn't seem to mind and went right about making himself at home. We talked for what seemed like hours. He'd just returned from a visit to some friends of mine. He told me all about how large their house was and what a nice car they had. At first I felt ashamed of what I had, but satan said if I worked really hard, took extra shifts on Sundays and cut back just a little on my contribution, I could have those things in just a few short years.
We laughed as we remembered the "good old days" and what fun I'd had "sowing my wild oats". I told him that sometimes I was ashamed of the things I'd done. He simply laughed and reminded me that no one had been hurt, and besides, everyone does those kinds of things when they are young. That's what being young is for. He needed a few things and so together we went shopping. I spent way more than I could afford but he told me that using my credit card helps build up a positive credit history, so I worked on my credit history. (grin)
We shopped later than we had intended and I just knew my husband would be upset. So we decided to leave our purchases in the car and bring them in after he went to bed, thus preserving the peace in our household. So we hurried in and began dinner. Satan and I had already grabbed a quick bite so I opened a can of soup for the family, tossed it onto the table and excused myself to the other room.
We watched tv while they ate. After I got the children ready for bed, my husband tried to engage me in a conversation about his day. His days are always the same and so I put him off to go clean up the kitchen. The devil came in to help me. He was surprised at how big a mess my family made out of soup. He said he felt sorry for me because I work so hard to get a hot meal on the table and they don't even put their dirty dishes in the sink. I hadn't thought of that before, but he was right! I deserved better treatment than this! So, I decided I was going to leave the dishes on the table until one of them moved them to the sink. We smiled and chuckled at this great lesson I was teaching my family and then we returned to watch tv. We stayed up really late and watched a violent and trashy movie. There was lots of sexual content, innuendos, bad language and nudity. But, as adults, we decided we were mature enough to not be influenced by such things.
The alarm clock went off and my husband and I were up out of bed. It was Sunday morning and we needed to get ready for worship. We were surprised to find satan sitting in the living room, watching tv already. He told me that I didn't look like I felt well. He said my eyes looked tired and like I had a headache or something and that my voice sounded raspy, like I had a sore throat. I was thankful he brought it to my attention, because I hadn't noticed before. If I was coming down with something, I certainly didn't want to share it with some of the old people at church. My husband planned to go and take the kids. Satan talked to him awhile about the church people. He remembered when they'd mistreated him and how they had gossiped and talked about him. He said if they did that to others, they probably did that to us, too. He also reminded us that we sing the same old songs and hear the same old lessons every time and that church just isn't what it used to be. He stated that since God wants us to worship in spirit and in truth, wouldn't it make sense that God would rather have us stay home and worship him here instead of at the building, doing the same old meaningless rituals with a bunch of phony gossips? That did make sense and so we decided to have a devotional with our children, once they got up.
Later on, the phone rang, satan offered to answer it, looking at caller id, he noticed it was a church member. He picked up the call and smiling impishly, told them we were all ill. He didn't tell them we were already feeling better, but that was okay!
Satan stayed for a few more days. We made lots of changes during that time, tried lots of new things and stopped doing some other things. He smiled and hugged me as he left, telling me he'd had an absolutely wonderful time. After he was gone, I was surprised to find my house was mess and my life was in shambles. It would take months to clean up. As depression replaced the thrill of the visit, I realized that this had not been good. I wanted to cry, not because I would miss him but because I had allowed him, more like welcomed him in. It occurred to me that while satan was here visiting, God hadn't stopped by. I realized how much I missed God and how much better things are when He is around. It seems that the devil always leaves chaos when he drops by. I decided that I would not allow this again. I decided that I would be too busy with ministry to spend time with satan, that I would have my house so full with God that I would not have room for this unexpected guest and should he stop by, well . . . . . next time, I will not be such an accomodating hostess. Next time, satan will not enjoy his visit with me and perhaps he will leave quickly. I resolved that next time I would be ready when the devil drops in again. . .

Peace
Neva