Reflect
The name Satan didn’t always mean “the devil.” Originally this word meant something more like “the accuser.” In Job 1—2, he is a kind of prosecuting attorney in charge of presenting God with evidence of how badly things are going down on earth. But his work has blinded him to the truth. He is so busy accusing that he can’t see the truth anymore. For instance, when God brings up “my faithful servant Job,” Satan accuses Job of hypocrisy. And with these accusations he destroys Job’s family, his health, and (for a time) his life. How often do we let habits and ways of thinking blind us to the truth? How often do we misread the world and the people around us (even ourselves), because we are too busy accusing, too busy reading the world through the broken lens of an accuser?
Pray
Dear Lord,
I come before you today confused and sometimes frightened by the world around me.
Open my eyes, and let me see the truth of your love present in all that you have made—
your beloved creation.
Give me the humility to know that I do not know the secret trials and fears of others.
Instead of accusing and judging,
I ask you to give me a heart for encouragement, patience and love.
I pray this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ,
who came not to judge the world, but to save it.
Act
The next time you feel the urge to accuse someone of hypocrisy, even in the silence of your heart, take a moment to remember the story of Job. Even though Satan roamed the earth and knew almost everything there was to know about Job’s life, he still got it wrong. And remember the trouble he caused (and still does), simply by being an accuser.
