A deal with the devil?
Mark 8:36 “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
Throughout history there are many legends or stories about individuals who made a “deal with the devil.” A first glance you might look at that and say to yourself “There’s no way I would ever do anything like that.”
Before you answer so quickly and confidently, I’d ask you to stop and consider this question: “Have you ever put anyone or anything ahead of God?” Let me put it to you another way, “Have you ever so desired knowledge, wealth, fame, power or anything else so much that you were willing to do just about anything to get what you wanted?
If you do some real soul searching and answer both of those questions honestly, you realize that for every one of us there has been a time and more likely a number of times when we were so desperate to get something that we put it ahead of God.
With that frame of reference go back and reread our verse for this week. Jesus’ words likely cause us to sit up and take notice. Anytime we have been willing or tempted to lay it all on the line to get something we really wanted and put whatever we wanted ahead of God, we put ourselves in that precarious position of possibly forfeiting our soul by making a deal with the devil.
Very likely by this point you’re protesting and saying “I’ve never been at the point where I wanted to make a deal with the devil to get something.”
Let me take you back to the very first temptation and ultimately the very first sin. The devil asked Adam and Eve several seemingly innocent questions. But as Adam and Eve listened to those questions and let the devil plant the seed of doubt in their minds, they were making a deal with the devil and didn’t even realize it. The devil had made that first temptation seem so appealing and innocent that Adam and Eve didn’t even realize what was happening until it was too late. Fortunately for them God came to them rather soon after that temptation and called them to repentance and promised them the Savior and gave them forgiveness.
Hopefully by now you are starting to see how sly the devil is and how still today he makes the deals he lays before us seem so innocent, appealing and harmless.
“What is it going to matter if you tell one little lie to get yourself out of a jam?”
“What does it matter if you get drunk one night, everyone else does it?”
“What is the big deal if you take a quick peek at something sinful?”
“So what if you cheat a little bit to get what you want, everyone else does it?”
Those few examples probably got you thinking of those “deals” you’ve made that you thought were harmless or innocent.
Jesus gives us this warning because once we get comfortable making small deals with the devil, it leads to making bigger and more frequent ones and then we put ourselves in real danger of forfeiting our soul.
Paul gives us some fantastic advice in Ephesians 4:27 “Do not give the devil a foothold.”
Know that the devil is constantly looking for ways to get you to make a deal which seems harmless and then he leads you into sin. Follow Paul’s advice and don’t give him that foothold opportunity. Find the strength which God alone can give through regular use of his Word and Sacraments!