IF I WERE THE DEVIL . . .

If I were the devil I should make it as clear as possible that this world is all there is. I should make it seem a dreamy, pie‑in‑the‑sky idea that there should be anything hereafter. Why, the very idea would be only for malcontents, dreamers, and simpletons, not for us enlightened contemporary intellectuals.

If I were the devil my strategy would include making the pleasures of this world seem so inviting that nothing would be needed beyond them. Or better yet, not to think beyond them at all. Let people eat their dessert first, so to speak, ignoring the nutrition provided by the main meal. By the time my followers realized that the sweet is best when preceded by the not‑so‑sweet, it would be too late. They would already be mine. The pleasures of the sweets my people would live on would be so tasty that they would be craved, even as the people became anemic and spiritually starved. Just to make sure, I should spread the idea that a good, loving God‑‑if there were such a Person‑‑would never withhold good things from His people, not even for a time. No, what's best for people is what feels best NOW. If it feels good, do it. Never mind the consequences. Now repeat after me: don't think about tomorrow. Don't think about your soul's health. Don't think...

If I were the devil I should, at all costs, make sure people did not think there was one true solid Creator. I should be happiest if everyone thought of God as whatever form suited them best, if they thought of God at all. My greatest efforts would go toward shielding people from the idea that God is a living Being Who knows each person personally. Let Him instead be an idea, a "force," or a philosophy, molded and unique to each person's taste.

If I were the devil, I would of course, know Him to be real, a God Who is THERE, and should delight in keeping this fact from as many as possible. Oh, and I would hide myself as well. If people knew there was a me, they'd think there must also be an anti‑me, that is, God. Let people believe neither of us exists and my work will be much easier. Better still, let everyone think they're all part of God. That God is the sum total of humanity. That way there's no accountability. People are God, so people can do as they please.

If I were the devil, I must discourage any feelings of guilt. Wrong actions, evil thoughts, selfish motives, bad attitudes, self‑centeredness‑‑why, these things are all an illusion, aren't they? Sin is an illusion. You're just fine as you are, aren't you? Now repeat after me: everything's an illusion. Evil is an illusion, God's an illusion, you're an illusion, I'm an ill...