Anyone who has served Jesus for any length of time will appreciate the truth of there being an evil entity who is intensely opposed to the reign of Christ. Plans to prayerfully spread the Gospel are met with a myriad of obstacles, and we often experience persecution (Revelation 2:9). Especially, getting the family ready for church on a Sunday morning is often a battle. Why? Because we have an enemy who wants to discourage and stumble us in whatever way he can.

Every Christian faces a three-fold enemy of the world, the flesh and the Devil. Even though Satan has been defeated by the person and work of Jesus (Luke 10:18; John 12:31; 1 John 3:8), the spiritual battle continues. And while it is impossible for someone who has been born again to be possessed by an unclean spirit, there is still a sense in which believers are oppressed by the Devil. This article examines what the Bible says we should expect in this regard.
1 Peter 5:8 tells us we should be self-controlled and alert because our enemy the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. What’s more, we’re told that if we submit ourselves to God and resist the Devil, then he will immediately flee (James 4:7). While we are ultimately kept safe by the sovereign power of God (Jude 1, 24; Phil 1:3-6) this doesn’t mean that there are not real spiritual threats or dangers.
Setbacks and Opposition in Ministry
In 1 Thessalonians 2:18 the apostle Paul says, “We wanted to come to you — certainly I, Paul, did, again and again — but Satan stopped us.” Clearly, the Devil has a certain amount of influence in this present world. Elsewhere, in Ephesians 6, Paul famously writes that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in the heavenly realms.
While within divinely predetermined limits, the experience of Job is also illuminating. In chapters 1 and 2, we are explicitly told how the Devil was the cause of Job’s suffering. Whether it be the theft of oxen and donkeys by the Sabeans, a fire from heaven which destroyed his sheep, three lots of Chaldean raiding parties who carried off his camels, a mighty wind which caused the death of his children, or the personal suffering of physical illness. Each and every one of these things are directly attributable to Satan.
Anyone who has served Jesus for any length of time will appreciate the truth of there being an evil entity who is intensely opposed to the reign of Christ. Plans to prayerfully spread the Gospel are met with a myriad of obstacles, and we often experience persecution (Revelation 2:9). Especially, getting the family ready for church on a Sunday morning is often a battle. Why? Because we have an enemy who wants to discourage and stumble us in whatever way he can.
Unresolved Anger
One of the things which is striking about the work of Satan — particularly in the New Testament epistles — is how ‘ordinary’ it is. Take for instance Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:26-27. “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
Note the logical flow between the two verses. In verse 26 we are told not to allow our anger to be expressed in sinful ways. Being angry in and of itself is not a sin. As with Jesus’ response to the Pharisees in Mark 3:1-6, sometimes anger is not only justified, but a godly response. Although, being continually angry all the time doesn’t bring about righteous life which God requires (see James 1:19-20).
The key though is to not let the sun go down while we are still angry about something and we haven’t made an attempt to resolve it. Sweeping our anger under the carpet like that doesn’t solve things, but only makes it worse. Indeed, it gives the Devil a ‘foothold’ in twisting our hearts and driving a wedge between ourselves and the other person.
Unforgiveness and Division
Closely following on from the previous point, is Satan’s strategy to “divide and conquer”. The Lord Jesus says that even the Devil would not drive out a demon from someone because it would destroy what he is doing (i.e. Matthew 12:25-28). Alternatively, though, Satan seeks to divide Christians against each other (contra Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-23).
One of the chief ways in which Devil does this is through division. And the mechanism through which this is achieved is unforgiveness. In 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 the apostle Paul refers to the restoration of an individual who had previously undergone some form of church discipline.
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“What is it about the kingdom that is of such profound value? It is a multifaceted treasure, but at the center of its value is the possibility of ultimate meaning. Jesus’s gospel of the kingdom is good news because it offers us deep, durable meaning powerful enough to sustain us through life and through suffering and dying. Our story becomes part of God’s grand story, the story behind all of our stories. it is the story in which our suffering is shown to be for good, to be meaningful, to matter, to be worth it.”

Let me preface things by saying that I am about to ban the word “coincidence” from my lips – and my fingers on the keyboard. As happens so very often, a number of different but related things happen at almost the same time, not only giving me the stuff of another article, but making me see how God’s hand is behind what we experience in life.
In the period of a day or so, three quite separate events occurred, all centring on the issue of suicide, self-worth, and why we must resist the culture of death. The first one was this: in a radio interview speaking of rock stars and rejection, the conversation steered to how sometimes when things get really bad, we can see that God is there to help us out of our downward and dead-end spiral.
So I ended up briefly recounting one example of this in my own life when as a depressed and bummed-out hippy I was quite suicidal. I had no sense of purpose or meaning, no sense of self-worth, so the idea of ending everything seemed to be the way to proceed. That episode is recounted in an earlier article of mine: link
The second thing that occurred during the same period was stumbling upon one of those many cop shows on television. The episode was about an officer called to deal with a woman on a bridge threatening to jump to her death. It turns out she was a youngish mother who kept shouting about how she was a failure and there was no reason to go on.
It was quite a tense and traumatic situation, and she was obviously in great distress and turmoil, thinking she was of no use to anyone, not even to her own children. The problem was, she was on the outside of a curved (from bottom to top) fence, which was over another busy road some thirty feet below. So it was quite difficult for the policeman to get to where she was at on the other side of it.
He had to try to comfort her and talk her out of it , telling her that she was not a failure and she was needed. She kept shouting “I’m sorry” as well, so he had to say she had nothing to be sorry about. He had to draw upon all he learned in his training to deal with people in this situation.
Soon a female officer came along, and as she talked to the distraught mother, the officer managed to get to the top of this fence thing, and tried to grab a hold of her. She still seemed intent on jumping, so he finally managed to get her two wrists into handcuffs which he also connected to the fence so she could not jump. A fire truck crew came and finally managed to get her down.
It was quite an intense and lengthy standoff, but finally ended with a good outcome. But what would have driven a mother like this to want to end her own life? How low of a view of her own worth and value did she have? And as the police told her, her children certainly needed her.
The third thing involves – no surprises here – a new book. It is on euthanasia and I was reading it at the same time. It is Ewan Goligher’s How Should We Then Die? A Christian Response to Physician-Assisted Death (Lexham Press, 2024). Although a brief book (140 pages) it offers a helpful look at this crucial issue of how suicidal thoughts are so closely connected to our sense of worth and importance as human beings.
Obviously those with a deep awareness of their own value as a person and their importance to self and to others will be far less tempted with thoughts of taking one’s own life. It is only when we lose all sense of meaning, purpose and value that the will to love is radically undercut.
Of course the idea of meaning and purpose contributing to our will to live is well-documented, and has been written about by many. One famous work on this is Man’s Search For Meaning by concentration camp survivor Viktor Frankl. I have discussed him before, and Goligher also mentions him and his book. 
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As we listen and converse with others, we must consider Christ’s ministry and example of humility. He counted others more significant than Himself. Christ’s meek and lowly methodology exudes graces confronts people with an image of themselves. A conversation that is mutually characterized by insults does not give occasion to self-critical reflection. Someone who is belligerent toward a humble listener is confronted by his own conduct. The Biblical method is not merely the humble approach, it is the effective approach.

In an age of interconnectivity, communication has never been easier. With the ability to interact and engage with fellow human beings at the touch of button, conversation has never felt so accessible. With such technological privilege, one would think that hyperconnectivity with our fellow man would naturally result in civil discourse, hearty debate, and charitable disagreement. Yet one has only to peruse their social media stream to realize that something has gone awry. It seems instinctual that instant communication would result in thoughtful and fruitful discussion, and yet what we are seeing in the public (virtual) square today is largely churlish bickering from sanctimonious buffoons behind keyboards, particularly in matters of political and social viewpoints. A sense of anonymity, a lack of personal ethos, and a feeling of being able to speak without repercussion are all factors that have created an inhospitable environment for loving our neighbor well as we converse online. In spite of the current unfavorable climate of online interaction, the Bible offers an ethic of discourse that posits listening well as the starting place for charitable and fruitful engagement. Below are seven Biblical principles that if heeded, would result in more building up and less tearing down (1 Thess. 5:11; Rom. 14:19; Eph. 4:29).

1. Listen First, Speak Second
The pithy saying of “might makes right” has become a standard strategy in civil discourse. Whether in online political threads or Presidential debates, the tactic of the day seems to be that whoever can shout their opinion the loudest holds the most correct position. Yet Scripture would have us undertake a very different kind of tactic. The God-honoring way to converse with someone you disagree with is to listen first and then speak.
Proverbs 18:13
If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.
As Christians, we must be quick to hear and slow to speak (Jm. 1:19-20). This looks like actively listening to those we disagree with while they are speaking instead of drowning out their voice in our minds because we are fixated on crafting our immediate rebuttal. Furthermore, not only does the Bible call us to listen before speaking, but to withhold judgement because we often do not have the entire scope of a given circumstance.
Proverbs 18:17
The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.
Rather than brashly taking to Facebook or Twitter to make vindictive judgements and commentate on current events as though we possess the omniscient perspective on the matter, we must be patient and listen well. Listening well, in the case of Proverbs 18:17, means going beyond mere confirmation of our prior commitments, and not simply accepting the first perspective we hear as true. A multiplicity of perspectives may, over time, provide greater clarity down the road. Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and listen discerningly, for God is in heaven and we are on earth (Eccles. 5:2).

2. Heed the Counsel of the Wise
The gift of Christian community cannot be underestimated. God has placed shepherds within His church to care and direct the flock. God has also placed wise men and women in the church whose wisdom is made physically manifest by their crown of gray hair (Prov. 16:31).
Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.
The task of the Christian is to consider and heed the counsel of those have been running the race with endurance and fighting the good fight for a longer period of time than they have.
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