If I Were Satan (part 2)

Here's the second part of the chapter from my "Sooner" book about our enemy's strategy to distort the gift of sex as a means to fracture our relationships with God and with others. If you haven't read PART ONE yet, I would recommend you check it out first. Part one provides a little scriptural evidence of Satan's tendencies and strategies. Part two below suggests a list of initiatives he is probably actively pursuing as you read these words.

If you end up feeling a bit troubled by this, be assured that this was exactly my intention.

If I Were Satan (part 2)

I may not have the ability to sneak into the war room of Hell for a peek at what our enemy is up to, but, based on what I know of him from scripture, I can presume what I would do if I were him. With that in mind, allow me to put a new spin on the role of “Devil’s Advocate.” Specifically, let me outline a suggested plan of what I would do on the “sexual battlefield” if I were Satan.

If I were Satan, I would task my “best people” with messing up human sexuality. This would not be a passive attack, but a full-frontal assault with all the powers of darkness at my disposal. A key part of this would be a deceptive plan to convince people that their sexuality was a simple biological drive, not a critical dimension of their spiritual lives.

I would lull parents into a deep passivity, keeping them distracted from the needs of their kids. I would make them busy with work, sports, church, and the simple management of home in such a way that they are oblivious to their lack of meaningful relationships with their children.

If I were Satan, I would give special attention to destroying the father/daughter relationship. If I can shift a girl’s unsatisfied longing for her father’s heart over to the desire for a boyfriend and the attention he offers her, there’s nothing I can’t do to mess her life up. That girl becomes one that I can literally destroy with both hands tied behind my back.

I would make families believe that sex is a taboo subject. I would make it awkward and uncomfortable for parents and kids to talk about together. That way, when a young person had a question about their feelings or their experience, the last place they would dream of going for answers would be their parents.

Some of the greatest tools of deception are false assumptions. Therefore, I would lead church leaders to assume that parents are teaching their kids about these issues. Likewise, I would lead parents to assume that the church is doing it. That would leave kids exactly where I want them: alone and defenseless.

I would convince moms that it is the dad’s job to guard the hearts and minds of their children. I would convince dads that it is a mom’s job. Furthermore, I would create as much conflict between husbands and wives on this issue as possible, leading to frustration and paralysis.

I would use whatever means necessary to encourage kids to grow up quickly and lose their innocence. I would infiltrate their TV shows with boyfriend/girlfriend plot lines to convince girls that they desperately need a boy to like them. I would expose them to sexual images early on so that boys learn early that women are objects to be used.

If I were Satan, I would use every avenue I possibly could to convince people that sexuality has nothing to do with spirituality, but that it is only a physical, biological drive.

I would put tons of energy into convincing young people that, in the area of sex, the world is credible and their parents are clueless. I would take every opportunity to confirm for them that casual sex is fun and exciting and that sex within marriage is dull and boring. Movies, TV, and music would be the ideal mediums for this message.

I would saturate the world with sexual images, making sure that young people, in general, and boys in particular, get exposed to them at an early age. I would take the lessons gleaned from my associates working in the cigarette industry: if we can get them hooked early, we will have a customer for life.

I would do all I can to mess up the sex lives of married couples, making them feel inadequate or incapable of teaching their kids on the subject. If I could make it a distasteful subject for parents, then talking about it with their kids will be distasteful, as well.

Finally, I would trick parents into thinking that they have plenty of time to teach their children about sex, dating, and the power of emotional relationships. I would work to make sure that their children encounter these issues long before mom and dad ever bring them up.

This is what I would do if I were Satan. But what I would do does not matter. What matters is what he is actually doing. Crafty as he is, Satan typically stays a step or two ahead of most believers, so my list is incomplete. He is likely doing all that I suggested and much more.

If that is so, then how should a parent respond?