And the only way evil can be destroyed.
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Often when we see great evil in the world we feel an urge to “fight fire with fire” and use the same tactics as the enemy. We start to convince ourselves that if we were only “powerful” enough, we could take down Satan and all his minions.
However, that strategy will only hurt us in the end. If we truly want to conquer Satan’s power in our lives, we need to go after his greatest weakness.
Satan loves power and so he is going to use our desire for power against us. But there is one thing he hates and it alone can overturn his power: humble weakness.
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That may sound strange, and a little counterintuitive, but it is the biblical way to defeat Satan.
The most supreme example of “weakness” that overcame evil was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ upon the cross. There we have the King of Kings stripped naked on the wood of the cross in supreme agony. His hands and feet are nailed down, leaving him entirely vulnerable. His captors can do anything they want to him and he can do nothing to protect himself.
Yet, this act of weakness was in reality a deed of extraordinary love and self-sacrifice. The power of love that it contained broke the bonds of death and opened up the gates of Heaven. Christ’s example of shedding his blood would summarize for us what being a Christian is all about.
Countless men and women throughout history would be inspired to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and as a result, evil empires were destroyed and corrupt political systems were demolished. Weakness would go on to save the day for the rest of history.
Philosopher Peter Kreeft points out in his book, The Philosophy of Tolkien, how even in Revelation, the “last battle between good and evil is a battle between two mythical beasts: Arnion, the meek little Lamb, and Therion, the terrible dragon beast. And the Lamb overcomes the Beast by a secret weapon: His own blood.”
Kreeft goes on to explain, “The weakness of evil is that it cannot conquer weakness. No matter how much power evil has, it is always defeated by the free, loving renunciation of power. It can be defeated … as it was on Calvary: by martyrdom.”
Satan despises weakness as he thrives on the quest for earthly power. The more we try to be “strong” and “influential” in the world, the more Satan works on us and gains inroads. Think of Mother Teresa. She worked with the poorest of the poor and in the eyes of the world she was a short, weak, and frail elderly woman. However, in truth she was one of the strongest women to have ever lived and was a thorn in the side of Satan. He could never conquer her and the good work she did.
If we want to overcome evil, the pathway to victory is lined with humility and self-sacrifice. Only when we give everything over to God, will we ever be able to defeat evil.
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