The Mirror

Many have wondered about the origin of sin. Where did it come from? I mean, originally. We know that the serpent in the garden tempted Adam and Eve to it, but where did the serpent get it? That, of course, was Satan, so ... where did Satan get it? Scripture says he was once a prime angel. How did he fall so far? God made him perfect (Ezek 28:15). What happened?

Scripture describes Satan today as an "angel of light" (2 Cor 11:14). At one time he was "an anointed guardian cherub." (Ezek 28:14) He hung around with God. The Bible tells us he was both beautiful and wise (Ezek 28:17). What happened? Well, we're unclear on the details because, well, God doesn't give them. What we do know is that his beauty corrupted his wisdom because of pride (Ezek 28:17). As a result,

"You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'" (Isa 14:13-14)

Pride was what brought Satan down. He suffered from the same malady we do -- unholy desire (James 1:14-15). And the result was a fallen angel.

What did it take to bring Satan down? Now, I'm not saying it did, but all it took in his case was a mirror. Imagine that. All Satan had to do was look in a mirror and recognize his own beauty and wisdom. How is this a problem? Well, by looking at his own glory, he fell short of God's glory. A focus on himself was a focus away from God. In dwelling on his own splendor, he sought to overcome God's splendor.

It is, actually, a very small step. A shift of the eyes, a turn of the attention, a single misdirection. Just recognizing that God had made him beautiful wouldn't have been a problem; it was dwelling on it. It required time, time for what Ezekiel described as corrupted wisdom for the sake of his splendor (Ezek 28:17). But it was simply time spent away from God's glory basking in his own.

You have to admit it's the same tendency we have. When God is good to us, we think, "I deserve it." When things go bad we think, "I deserve better." When troubles arise we seek to solve it by our own strength. When there is glory to be had, we tend to try to grab it for ourselves. The nature of the human being is standing with fist clenched toward God, declaring, "I will be like the Most High in my own life." God wants hands raised in submission and worship.

The problem, then, is not Satan. He is simply a cautionary tale, so to speak. "See what he did? Don't do that." And we do. So we have to confess ... again ... and turn ... again. We have to remind ourselves that we are not God -- not the Master, not the Creator, not the Lawgiver, not the point -- and He is. We need to distract ourselves from the mirror -- giving ourselves the attention -- and turn our eyes on Jesus.