The power of SELF-destruction

Selfishness arises from being excessively concerned with one’s own welfare or advantage in disregard of others. Now let’s look at lucifer’s rejection of God and how it directly relates to his never-ending efforts to draw as many human souls as he can, into his realm of SELFishness.

The devil (who was originally an angel by the name of lucifer) refused to be outranked in the heavens, and that was the issue that started this drama. His rebellion caused division between God and two-thirds of the angels, all of whom were cast out of heaven along with lucifer when God banished him. Even now, satan’s objective is to cause a division between the natural and the supernatural; it is one of his defining traits and explains why he loathes celibacy and purity. It is only through our singleness and pureness of heart for God, that true intimate, intentional worship is founded. The devil knows that apart from the true source of life, which is the breath of God that causes us to be living human beings, we cannot thrive or survive.

“Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7 – New Living Translation).

Because satan knows that God is our life source, he will attempt to permanently sever that relationship. His aim is to receive our worship for himSELF. The devil detests every one of us. He is the enemy of our souls, and he will stop at nothing to see us suffer in eternal damnation. It’s his imminent future, and he has no intention of going down by himself. He is the epitome of “misery loves company.”

The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness gives a clear picture of what satan’s agenda was all about. The Easy-to-Read Version of Matthew 4:8-10 says, “Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all the wonderful things in them.  The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.” Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! The Scriptures say, ‘you must worship the Lord your God. Serve only him!’”

Just imagine what would have happened had satan somehow convinced Jesus to fall for the temptation. It would have killed the fulfillment of the promise of eternal life for each of us that was to come only by way of Christ’s crucifixion on the cross, His burial and His resurrection. If Jesus had bowed to satan in worship, the devil would have gotten the victory that he sought while simultaneously cutting each of us away from our life source, which is Jesus Christ.

In much of the same manner, and with much of the same motive, satan hates marriage. It, too, is a life of SELF-sacrifice made possible only by divine blessing. Within this ordained union, we not only add two believers together, but we also multiply the number of children of God that will have the potential to receive supernatural increase by grace and to enjoy heavenly glory—things of which the devil is deprived.

What an honor to be invited into collaboration with the Author of life! To stand, in procreation, at the origin of a life fashioned “ex nihilo” (Latin adverb that means “out of nothing; from nothing”) by Christ. This is a power that satan does not and never will have. In fact, no other being has it either. Only God has the power to create this life, and He did it for each of us. Not because we are worthy, but because He is awesome, and He created us for a purpose. He loves us in spite of our flaws and failures.

In Psalm 8:4-6 (ERV), David presents it to God like this: And I wonder, “Why are people so important to you? Why do you even think about them? Why do you care so much about humans? Why do you even notice them?” But you made them almost like gods and crowned them with glory and honor. You put them in charge of everything you made. You put everything under their control.”

This is one of many reasons the devil so hated Adam and Eve. This is why he hates Jesus. This is why he hates you, me, and yes, marriage. As magnificent in grace as they were, satan knew that from the loins of Adam and Eve would spring an entire race of beings—including you and me—that would be predestined for eternal glory. That eternal glory (life everlasting) would be available to us by the shed blood of Jesus. And if we came to know Christ as our personal Savior, and we (men and women) came together under a marriage covenant and embodied the blueprint that is laid out in Scripture, we would be the perfect reflection of Christ and His love for His people. This makes satan tremble … in anger and in fear!

Marriage requires SELFLESSness. In order for us to carry out God’s will and be the examples that He desires us to be through our covenants, we have to die to SELF and esteem our spouses above ourselves. We must consider one another, serve one another and live for one another. We can no longer do only what makes us happy and what benefits us individually. Every husband must consider his wife in his decision-making. Every wife must consider her husband in her choices. When we use our power of SELF-destruction, and take on a mindset of oneness with our spouse, we give the devil a punch in the eye, a jab in the gut and a kick in the butt. When we defeat his purpose, we defeat him!

God desires us to be born, not only that we should live and fill the earth, but much more that we may be worshippers of Him. God breathed life into us, so when we worship, we’re not doing Him any favors; we’re simply giving Him back His own breath. Nothing we have belongs to us. It all belongs to God—even our very lives. His desire that we live for Him is not an act of selfishness. When we are obedient and do as He outlines in His Word, we receive an eternity of blessings in return! We live for Him that we may know and love Him, not only on earth, but also forever in heaven. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). But ultimately, it’s our choice.

In marriage, the choice is an individual one too. When we SELF-destruct, the rewards are endless. When we make the conscious decision to destroy SELF-centeredness, what we get in return is a harmonious, extraordinary marriage that pleases both God and us. It’s important to know that this SELF-destruction that we speak of does not mean to neglect yourself or allow yourself to be misused or abused. This is why it is so important to be equally yoked and for BOTH the husband and the wife to SELF-destruct. If both are considering the other above themselves, neither will go neglected and neither will be mistreated.

What does the Word of God have to say about SELF-destruction? “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4 – New American Standard Bible).

Drs. Michael & Kendra Holmes are the senior pastors of Deliverance Revival Church in Warner Robins, the founders of Royalty Relationship Coaching, LLC, the authors of the 31-day devotional, “Cross-Fire: Igniting Passionate, Purposeful, and Powerful Relationships,” and guests hosts of the new television talk show, “The Marriage Circle Connection.” W.A.R. is an acronym for “We Are Royalty,” the official slogan of Royalty Relationship Coaching, LLC. Visit the website at www.RoyaltyRelationshipCoaching.com.

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