The devil is a powerful force in this world. Pride and/or lust gives him an edge with us, which we need to learn to defend against. There was a time when people in general were more aware of the workings of God and Satan right here in America. There was a feeling that good things came from God (In God We Trust is still on our money) and bad things came from the devil (someone being full of the old nick, or “The devil made me do it!”) Many phrases came about based on this feeling of good vs. evil, and I want to consider one in particular that many of you are probably familiar with: The devil is in the details.

Whenever someone is using this turn of words, they usually mean that an idea overall is a good one, but getting there from here is the real trick. For instance, having cheap, clean, abundant electricity would solve the world’s problems. Less pollution, more food, safer homes, more innovation, etc. Everyone may agree on this wonderful idea, but one little detail keeps it from happening. We can’t seem to find ways to make this cheap, clean, abundant electricity. In this example, the devil IS the detail. But it’s not really Satan.

Let me give you some examples on other ways the devil is in the details. I chat with people at work who claim to have read the bible from “cover to cover”. I talk to them about going to heaven, the overall idea that I am trying to get across. Whenever we get to the part about the need for a particular detail called baptism, I often get the shrug attitude. They usually agree “God wants our hearts, our loyalty, our attention” but when it comes to “getting into a tub of water and getting dunked”, well, that’s just silly. “What about perfect obedience?” I ask. They tell me I am too literal. Do our children obey us 100% of the time? Yet we find that acceptable don’t we? Why should we expect God to keep us out of heaven for one little unrepented sin, when we do everything else ok? (Insert that familiar game of what if, what if, what if right here!) God is love, and he loves us, and while there is no place called “Hell”, there IS a Heaven and God is just going to sweep us all into his arms and carry us there, regardless of how bad we are. Or if there is a hell, it’s only going to be people like Hitler or Stalin that go there. Only people who really deserve it go to hell.

Did you see the devil in the details? How much of God’s word can you ignore and still get to heaven? Which detail is unimportant? Are ANY? Consider this example: prayer at the Lord’s Table. This is an important thing that I think we can improve on. While a man’s prayer may be very nice, he might leave out a few things that should be said. First off, a man will occasionally pray about Christ’s power and glory, but he doesn’t talk about his death at all in the prayer. Isn’t his death what we are specifically told to consider at this time? Second, some men never actually mention the bread or the fruit of the vine. Whoops. They will even say, “Let us pray for the bread” but never mention it. Third, we have an example and a commandment to 1. thank God for it and 2. ask God to bless it. Many times this isn’t being done. Unfortunately, there are people here who think these are just “details”, and are not important. Not long ago someone told me that we don’t literally have to ask for a blessing or pray for the bread. Whoa! Didn’t Jesus have to fulfill in a literal way every prophecy about him? Which one was unimportant: virgin mother, death on the cross, son of David? I can understand being nervous and forgetting to say these things, but to outright claim something that is given in example (by Christ himself!) an unnecessary detail that doesn’t really need to be done? Who ever convinced us to think this way?

There he is, the devil is in the details! How did he get in there? Who cares! Let’s just get him OUT!

Randy