“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8)
It’s an understatement to say that the devil has an appetite for destruction. And the truth is the brokenness and sinfulness of humanity has given the enemy of mankind many opportunities to mete out that destruction - wars, assassinations, bloody revolutions - behind all these things is the malevolent work of our unseen enemy.
And by the way, if you are a skeptic about the existence of the devil or a living spirit of evil in our world, I suggest you read People of the Lie by psychiatrist, M. Scott Peck. The book is not a Christian book, but boy oh boy, is it ever an eye-opener to the hidden nature of evil masquerading as anything else but.
In The Rolling Stones song, “Sympathy for the Devil,” Mick Jagger sings in the first person as he takes on the role of the master of deception, the one Jesus called the “father of lies.”
Boasting of his riches and refined manner, he relishes in the fact that he has stolen the faith and souls of many.
He claims responsibility for many of the atrocities of the twentieth century - the bloody Russian Revolution, World War II and the stench of the bodies from the German blitzkrieg, and the assassination of the Kennedys in America.
Keep in mind that this song was written during a time when the world was terrorized by the possibility of nuclear war. I remember my elementary class practicing bomb drills and the weekly siren and test of the emergency broadcast system on the radio. It was a time in which the belief in the inevitable goodness of humanity had been shattered by the wars and violence of World Wars I and II.
No wonder, Mick, singing as the devil, speaks of cops as criminals and criminals as saints. Justice, truth, the goodness of humanity, all these things were being questioned in the 1960s.
Critics began calling Mick and the band, devil worshipers. I remember a story years ago about Mick’s granddaughter asking him why people called him the devil. He answered and said something like, “O honey, we just let them think that.”
Now, I’m not defending Mick or The Stones. Someday they will stand before the judgment seat of God like the rest of us. I do, however, want to tell you what this song says to me.
Throughout the centuries, the devil has appealed to the pride of humanity. This is exactly what he did with Jesus in the wilderness before the beginning of his ministry. Ultimately, Satan promised Jesus all the kingdoms of this world if Jesus would just do things the world’s way, the devil’s way. That’s what is meant when Satan says that if Jesus will worship him, he will be given worldwide authority. (See Matthew 4)
The lyrics of “Sympathy for the Devil” are spot on. Satan did indeed participate in the murder of the Tsar and his ministers; he held a general’s rank and rode a tank in the blitzkrieg, and he made #### sure the Kennedy’s and the idealism of what many in the United States referred to as the “Age of Camelot” was drowned in blood.
Rather than making Mick Jagger a personification of the devil, I think we would be better off acknowledging the truth of this song. It was about the same time that this song was recorded that a Black American comedian by the name of Flip Wilson coined the phrase, “the devil made me do it.” For the record, funny though it is, that’s bad theology.
Reflect on these words of Paul from Ephesians 4:27: “do not give the devil a foothold.” That’s how the New International Version translates it, but the Greek word is “typos” or “place,” and it was used to describe a military base of operations from which attacks could be launched. Through things like jealousy, anger, bitterness, pride, and a host of other sins of the flesh, we allow the devil to establish a base of operations in our lives, carrying out his malevolent plans through us. And we would do well to remember the words of Michel Eyquem: “The souls of emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mold . . . The same reason that makes us wrangle with a neighbor causes a war betwixt princes.”
As we listen to the words of “Sympathy for the Devil,” we become painfully aware of the many bases of operation throughout history that our enemy has used to wreak havoc in our world. Mick Jagger seems to understand that better than some Christians I know.
And no, I don’t believe Mick is asking us to give Satan sympathy. I think he is simply personifying the arrogance and malevolence of our ancient foe.
For still our ancient foe does seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.
Martin Luther, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”
In Christ,
Dan
P.S. After many years of pondering prayerfully whether I should do it, in 2003, I got a tattoo on my shoulder. It’s of a dragon-like serpent in the claws of a golden eagle. The eagle appears smaller, but make no mistake, the eagle is Lord of the Dragon. Underneath this image is a burning scroll with the words “Jude 9.” It reminds me of the battle I’m in and how to fight it.
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