"and do not give the devil an opportunity." Ephesians 4.27 in the New American Standard Bible. The New International Version says, "and do not give the devil a foothold." While the King James Version says, "Neither give place to the devil." To really get at the meaning of this word, to get the correct translation, we have to go back to the original text.
The word in Greek is topon which is a form of the word topos meaning, "place, opportunity, position, room, space, dwelling, or seat." Every translation of the Bible has this word correctly translated, we are told not to allow Satan into our lives. We can't give him an opportunity to enter our lives, we can't give him a chance to get a grip.
As I look at the different translations of this word I think about what they mean. Place, room, space, and dwelling are very similar. At my parent's house I had a room. It was my space to unpack, to live. At college I had a dorm room, a dwelling place where I could set up and work on projects. We aren't supposed to let Satan have this space in our lives. When we let the devil have a place in our hearts he is able to unpack his equipment, he can work on projects and begin his work at destroying our relationships.
When I think of the word position, my mind immediately goes to a battle, and a place of strategic advantage, like a hill top, or a cliff face looking over a beach as enemy troops attack. Position is a strong hold that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. When we let the devil in, he immediately goes to the hill top and sets up his base. Once he's there it is difficult to get him out because he has a well defended position. From there he can pick his targets and take them out at will.
Seat is a word that is close to my heart. A seat is at a table, you occupy one as you have a meal. The best times to build relationships are at meals, because everyone has to eat. Everyone will come into the kitchen, not everyone will get to your living room. A seat requires an invitation, you invite someone to join you at the table for a meal. At the table you sit and talk as you enjoy a meal. You share stories and deepen relationships. If we allow Satan into our lives we've invited him to the table. He's a dinner guest who monopolizes the conversation and ruins the evening.
Don't allow Satan to have an opportunity to unpack in a room. Don't allow him to have the opportunity to climb the hill and set up his base. Don't allow him to have the opportunity to ruin relationships by taking over a meal. When we allow him into our lives we've given him all of these opportunities, and once he's there he begins his work of destroying our relationships.
As I look at this I think about the different ways we give Satan a foothold. In Ephesians it says that Anger can become a foothold. It's the only place the word is used, but it's not the only foothold. Philippians tells us not to be anxious, Anxiety or worry, is another foothold. There is Fear, the Bible tells us to "Fear not" dozens of times, because fear is a foothold of the devil. Pride is another one, along with Greed. In talking to my wife she mentioned Ignorance, and I thought of Apathy. All of these give Satan on invitation to the table, and all of them lead to broken relationships with others and with God.
Over the next few weeks I want to look at each one, and the scriptures that talk about how they destroy our relationships and therefore our lives. As we look at these, it is my hope that we can remove them form our lives. Some of them have positive qualities that we need, but Satan tries to corrupt them so that he can work. Others are fully negative and have no place in our lives and we need to do away with them.
God created us for relationships, and if we allow Satan to have a foothold he will begin to destroy them. So let's look at these so that we can remove the footholds, and keep Satan out.
Peace be with you
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