Messages from the Devil:
Given your current circumstances, you should feel insecure. Seek money and success if you want to be more secure.
You need to worry about yourself, otherwise no one will. If you think about others before yourself, then who will look out for you?
Are you important enough? It's important that you be important and successful, and that others know it.
Worry about your future: what is going to happen to you and your life? You should be scared.
You need to be more physically attractive to have more value as a human being.
Seek pleasure; it will make you feel better.
These are based on a recent conversation I had with my cousin.
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Messages from the Angel:
[Remember, Christian soul…] Keep your [life] free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
(Hebrews 13:5)
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
(Psalm 55:22)
As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message.
(Galatians 2:6)
Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace.
(Psalm 37:37)
[As for you, satan…] Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.
(Ezekiel 28:17)
[My soul, say to the Lord…] You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
(Psalm 16:11)
"Get behind me, satan!"
(Matthew 16:23)
It's hard to play devil's advocate when you don't believe in the devil, but here goes:
Why is seeking pleasure bad if you're not breaking commandments? And why is concern for your worldly well-being a bad thing?
Your cousin's the devil?
No, my cousin is just who suggested to me these ideas were devilish. My uncle is the devil.
The other day I respoded to Jeff, but for some reason the posting failed. So here it goes again.
Pleasure isn't inherently bad. But sometimes we use pleasure innappropriately. Lots of times, when faced with a struggle, instead of turning to God, I'll turn to pleasure to dull the pain of the struggle. This prevents me from finding the right answers to my problems, and prevents me from growing in my relationship with God.
Similarly, the problem with being anxious for one's worldly concerns is that the anxiety belies lack of faith in God. If we trusted God, then we wouldn't be anxious. Often, anxiety drives us into the arms of various idols: money, self-sufficiency, pleasure, etc. We go to these "gods" or "idols" to help us address our anxiety, instead of turning to God in faith.
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