How Big Is Your Satan?

My Grandpa was a Nazarene preacher. Before he died, we would often have discussions about what it was like to be a pastor. Looking back, I really wish I had taken a greater interest in his accounts of his years of ministry. There was a wealth of knowledge there that I would love to have access to today. But one of the discussions we had came to mind recently.

He told me that whenever he would prepare a sermon, he would not talk about it to anyone so that Satan wouldn't know what he was going to preach about on Sunday. He was afraid that if he spilled the beans, Satan would know who to keep out of church on Sunday or how to steer people away from hearing what God wanted to tell them. When he told me this, I couldn't help but ask him, "Grandpa, what kept Satan from reading your notes?"

I will never forget the look on his face! It was as if a lightbulb popped on in his head, he was overcome with a sheepishly coy grin, and he said, "You know, I never even thought about that."

We had a good laugh over it. I really miss him.

In my small group on Sunday night, we were discussing what the Psalms tell us about our relationship with God. One person made a rather harmless comment about Satan and his attempts to deceive us, and naturally my mind went racing off in another direction. I totally derailed the topic and monopolized the conversation. I am really bad about that... But when I find a topic of conversation stimulating, it is hard to let it go. To be fair, three of us joined in to the conversation... the rest of the group probably just couldn't wait for us to quit. But the resulting 20 minute dialogue about Satan, his abilities, powers, and influence really did get me thinking a lot this week about the role of Satan in the Christian life.

We often ask the question, "How Big is Your God?" When we do so, it is usually in response to a position that attempts to minimize or trivialize the abilities of God. It is a question that I believe has at its root the more direct question, "Do you have faith in God?" But when we turn this question around and ask, "How Big is Your Satan?" it opens up a whole new realm of philosophical and theological questions which I find fascinating. Just a few of these questions are:

Does Satan know I exist?
We often attribute many God-like qualities to Satan such as the ability to know every person in detail, including what our weaknesses are and what ways we are most easily tempted. But what if Satan's knowledge is more like ours than God's? Why do we assume that Satan possesses a superior intellect? What if Satan's ability to know people in depth is roughly equivalent to ours? If that is the case, then maybe Satan is familiar with 1,500 or 2,500 people in great detail, which is at the upper limits of human ability. Maybe he is twice as smart as us. Or 10 times. Or even 100 times. But even at that rate, he would only know at best 250,000 people in great detail. And in a world of 6,000,000,000 people, that leaves only a .0000416 percent chance that he knows me at all. And why would he bother with me when there are so many more influential targets out there. So when I have heard someone say something to the effect that, "Satan has really been after me this week," it makes me smile a little. What if Satan has no clue that we have even been born?

Where is Satan At?
The bible mentions in Job that Satan presented himself before God after wondering to and fro upon the earth. What is interesting is that it seems pretty clear that Satan is a finite being bound by space and time. Another God-like quality that we are apt to attribute to Satan is the ability to be at all places at all times. He can be in our living room with us, tempting us to watch a movie we shouldn't while at the same time be huddled up in a cave with Osama Bin Laden plotting the next bombing. But if Satan is truly finite, wouldn't he be bound to one locale at any given time? This would seem to put a pretty big crimp in his abilities.

Can Satan Speak to Us Through Our Thoughts?
Is that voice we hear in our heads tempting us to do evil the work of Satan or is it just our own random thoughts? I honestly believe God speaks to me in many ways, including through thoughts and emotions. But does Satan also have the ability to interject himself into my thought life? Does he have access to the same party line that God speaks to me through? And if so, what is to keep him from offering me seemingly "Godly" advice in ways that mimic the prompting of the Holy Spirit?

Do you have to believe in Satan to get into heaven?
I only ask this one because a few years back I prompted a debate with a friend by saying I was not too sure if Satan existed. By the look on their face, you would have thought I denied the Virgin Birth. In fairness, I do believe in the concept of Satan and I wholly believe that the Biblical accounts mentioning Satan as a historical figure are accurate. But if someone denies the existence of Satan, can that person still have saving faith in Christ? I think so. After all, if Satan really is finite, who is to say that he has not already been destroyed? And why does Satan even matter in the life of a child of God? We do not belong to him. To our own Master we will stand or fall.

Well, I would love to hear some feedback on some of these issues. I am fascinated by the different sizes of other people's Satans. As for me, I tend to think Satan is a pretty weak character in the grand scheme of life. I know this borders on naivete, but I honestly believe that Christ dealt Satan a death blow, and that our selfish nature is much more prone to derailing us from the faith than Satan ever will be. And as long as we focus on Satan as our worst enemy, we may never deal with the enemy that is within.

All that being said, I wonder, are there are other perspectives out there that might shed some light on just how big Satan really is? Please, feel free to chime in!