Day 223: The Devil Can Help You Get Closer to God

There is an interesting verse found in I Corinthians 5:5, this is a verse that is not used very much when a pastor is counseling someone but in fact makes a lot of sense. The Apostle Paul writes, "hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord." If you look at this verse in context it is regarding a case of incest. Does that mean this verse only applies to cases of incest? I don't believe so because there is some larger lesson being taught here.

What about the person/family member/friend that you know is going down a path of destruction in their life but just won't listen to you or anyone? Now I am not talking about someone who is doing something that you deem as "rebellious" because it doesn't necessarily line-up with your biblical understanding. What I am talking about is something that is going to truly hurt a person physically, mentally, spiritually, etc. I cannot recall how many times I have seen parents provide over and over for their children and yet you get those who just seem hell bent on making wrong decisions in life. I am not talking about poor job choice or switching churches here. I am talking an immoral lifestyle leads them down a path until they are destitute. What do we do with these kind of people? What advice can you possibly give them? They know how to pray, they know what it means to seek after God, they may have even experienced a few genuine moves of God in their lives and yet...it does not register with them that what they are doing is so wrong.

The only advice you can possibly give someone who has bent over backwards again and again in my opinion is to "hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord." Did I really say in my title that "the devil can help you get closer to God"? Why yes, yes I did. Take a look at some of the most profound cases of people who "knew better." Whether it is a politician, pastor, friend, family member (high profile or regular profile) that took a hard moral failing. NEVER would I say they fell from grace...rather I would tell you they fell into grace if at the end when Satan had their way with them (being turned over to Satan) that they came back to Christ a broken and humble person. In these cases, yes Satan/The Devil made their eyes open to the God they turned their back on either knowingly or unknowingly. Interesting isn't it?

Sometimes when we give advice to someone who has bent over backwards for someone...it has to be, "time to let them have what they want" and pray that through the destruction of their life that they will come back to a love for Christ and the blessings they have had before they left.