Worship or Wonder

“I will make myself like the most high” (Isaiah 14:14)

Satan.  We know about him, we have studied about him, we have heard sermons preached about him, and we have been warned about him in scripture.  But do we know what really caused him to get kicked out of heaven?  We should know, for what baited him can also dangerously bait us.

At one time Satan was an angel.  We know that because in the first chapter of the book of Job we are told that “one day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.” (verse 6).  Angels were created for two primary purposes.  One was to be God’s messengers.  In fact, the word angel in the Greek comes from a word that means “messenger.”  They were the messengers announcing Christ’s birth.  Their other purpose is of the highest importance.  That is to be spirits who worship God.  We find them in Isaiah circling God’s throne with great worship and adoration.  This tells us that at one time Satan, being himself an angel, spent his time worshiping God around the throne.  That was what he was created to do – worship the one true living God. 

So, the question then is, what exactly happened to him?  How did he go from worshipper of God to enemy of God?  In Isaiah 14:12, he was described as “the morning star, son of the dawn.”  How did he fall from being encased in light to being filled with darkness?  It really isn’t that complicated to understand.  At some point, Satan made the decision to stop worshipping – and start wondering.  Wondering what it would be like if HE were god.  Wondering how it would feel to have unlimited power like God had.  Wondering who would bow down and worship him.  Wondering what it would be like to “ascend above the tops of the clouds; and make myself like the Most High.” (Isaiah 14:14)

And in that is the warning for us.  We can get into trouble when we start “wondering” what things would be like.  Wondering what sin would look like for us.  Wondering what it would feel like if we strayed from scripture a bit.  Wondering what’s so wrong about certain sins anyway.  Wondering why not just indulge in a little misbehaving.  Wondering what would be so wrong if we took what isn’t ours.  Wondering what’s wrong with some of the things other people are doing.  Wondering – wondering – wondering. 

We forget that sin always begins with a thought.  One simple little thought or idea that pops into our mind.  One little thought that can easily distract us from worshipping God.  So next time you find yourself struggling with temptation, stop and think about what wondering did to an angel who once was a messenger and worshiper of God, and redirect your thoughts from wondering to worshiping!

                                               Darlene