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Defeating the devil
Actor Tom Ellis of Miranda fame tackles a very different character in TVNZ’s new show Lucifer. As Lucifer Morningstar, he’s a supernatural force in human form, eliciting the deepest, darkest secrets from people … and yet, given time, may evolve into a more moral entity altogether.
The TV series has its origin in the Neil Gaiman comic book The Sandman and a spin-off by Mike Carey. In Gaiman’s tale, Lucifer Morningstar retires from hell to run a jazz bar in Los Angeles.
By the way, it’s only the King James Version of the Bible that uses the word ‘Lucifer’ for the Devil—a Latin translation of the Hebrew word for ‘morning star’. This comes from Isaiah 14, which depicts the Devil’s pride leading to his exile from heaven: You, the bright morning star, have fallen from the sky! … You said to yourself, ‘I’ll climb to heaven and place my throne above the highest stars. … I’ll be above the clouds, just like God Most High.’ But now you are deep in the world of the dead.
Gaiman’s scenario is the starting point for a neither subtle nor clever police procedural that sees Lucifer joining forces with a female detective to solve crime—starting with the murder of a pop star friend of Lucifer’s. Having given herself over to the type of vices that can put a performer’s career at risk, Lucifer refutes the singer’s implied defence of ‘the Devil made me do it’. ‘The choices are on you,’ he tells her.
The Devil (aka ‘Satan’) first features in the Bible personified as a snake, tempting Eve to cross God’s only no-go boundary. ‘This thing you’re suggesting I do—that God told me not to—there will be consequences,’ protests Eve. ‘And I don’t want those consequences.’
‘You’re dreaming!’ is pretty much the snake’s response. ‘God’s only telling you “no” because he wants to keep the best this world can offer to himself. Now, does that sound fair? And don’t worry, nothing bad will happen.’
Eve takes the bait, and Adam follows suit. Turns out …the Devil lied.
No surprise there. Jesus called the Devil ‘a liar and the father of all lies’. His words, his invitations seem so appealing, so innocent, so easy to hide from others, so irresistible that we give in and cross that line. We choose the Devil’s enticements and our will over God’s wisdom and morality. And hope to escape the consequential harm.
There’s a temptation in this TV series to sympathise with the Devil as some tragic, hard-done-by figure. As Lucifer asks in the first episode, ‘Am I the Devil because I’m intrinsically evil, or am I the Devil because dear old Dad decided I was?’ We all know what it means to deny personal responsibility and duck for cover like this. But Lucifer is correct—and thereby condemns himself—when he says, ‘The choices are on you.’
The Bible tells us the Devil is real, not a figment of fiction. Jesus won the ultimate victory over this fallen creature when he died on the cross, so we don’t need to overestimate him. But neither should we underestimate the Devil, because he’s not going down without a fight. We therefore want to be wise to his schemes and strategies (the chief of which is to make people believe he doesn’t exist).
Those we spend the most time with have the greatest influence over the person we become. If we don’t want to be overpowered by the Devil’s influence, it’s essential we choose to spend time with God—inviting God to shape our inner life so we can resist temptation.
As a modern version of the New Testament book of James says, ‘Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. … Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.’
by Christina Tyson (c) 'War Cry' magazine, 9 July 2016, pp3
You can read 'War Cry' at your nearest Salvation Army church or centre, or subscribe through Salvationist Resources.