Have you heard the old calypso-style chorus that goes, “Shut the Door, Keep Out the Devil, Shut the Door, Keep the Devil in the Night”? If only it were that easy—just lock up before you go to bed and all will be well.
But there is some truth to it.
If we walk by the Spirit, we will not carry out the desires of the flesh, Galatians 5:16.
You can shut the door. But the world and the Devil keep opening it. For some of us, it’s an addicting sin, a cherished sin that you regularly ignore and even coddle: food, lust, materialism, greed, etc. And when you tolerate a sin you leave the door open just enough. It’s as if the Devil stuck his boot between the door and the door jamb. So no matter what you do, the moment you let your guard down and step away from the door, he pushes it back open and comes into your life to wreck things and wreak havoc.
For others, there is a secret attitude, an anger or bitterness that they cherish and cultivate. Maybe their father was mean or circumstances seemed unfair, or God failed to answer some big prayer request—whatever it might be, there is an angry fire smoldering inside those hearts, an evil root of bitterness that is slowly poisoning them and everyone close to them. The Bible warns us not to tolerate a root of bitterness:
“See to it that no one fails to walk in the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up and by it many become defiled.” Hebrews 12:15.
This verse describes a person who hears the Word of God, but shrugs her shoulders, as if it does not apply to her. (Can’t you just picture that?)
Bitterness makes you question the authority of scripture, like the serpent in the Garden: “Did God really say that?—Yeah, but how do you know if that is really what He meant?” Bitterness makes you focus on shortcomings and failures in the church. You criticize preachers and Bible teachers, you raise doubts about the way churches and ministries handle money. You ignore the kind and godly people around you and spend your time focusing on a scandal involving someone who does not have any connection to your life. Bitterness robs you of joy in every area, and makes you perceive the Christian life as a burden rather than a blessing.
And just like an addiction, bitterness is a foothold for the Devil, an open door allowing him easy access every day.
Trust me, you don’t want to give the Devil access. You need to shut the door. We are warned:
“Guard your heart with all diligence.” Proverbs 4:23.
Here are some practical tips to help you shut the door and keep out the devil:
- Identify your weakness. Is it an addiction-type sin, is it a root of bitterness, or both? (I will address bitterness another time. The strategies that follow are tailored to the battle with sinful addictions.)
- The best defense is a good offense. Spend time in the Word, and in prayer. Memorize this: “Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalm 119:11. The stronger you are, and the deeper your connection to your Savior, the more prepared you will be to go to battle. And it is a battle.
- Flee youthful lust. 2 Timothy 2:22. Don’t negotiate. Don’t fight. Many things in life offer “fight or flight” choices. But fighting does not work with lust. You MUST FLEE.
- Protect yourself from habitual sin by BUILDING FENCES. Following God’s gift of the law through Moses, the Jewish Rabbis created “fences” to protect the people from violating the law.[1] For example, if the law said “stop eating the Passover at the fourth hour,” the Rabbis might move the time up two hours and say “stop eating at the second hour,” so that if it was a cloudy day and people were in danger of losing track of time, these extra two hours would stop them from breaking the law by accident. Similarly, God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Later, Eve re-stated the law as “God told us not to TOUCH the tree of knowledge.” Some Jewish commentators have suggested that Adam and Eve “built a fence,” by adding to the law. Their logic was “if I don’t touch the tree, then I will be even less likely to eat its fruit.” Although the Bible cautions against adding to God’s law, I think you can see the advantage of creating fences in an area where you habitually sin. How can you build fences in your life to keep you away from sins that give the Devil a foothold?
Here are some examples: Can you limit access to the things that tempt you? Can you change the way you handle your screen time? Put a lock on your phone? Put hours on the phone? Put a password on your phone and computer to keep you from the worst websites—and make it a gibberish password that you will never remember? Can you change your driving habits to avoid passing the vanilla cones at McDonald’s, if that’s your weakness? Can you enlist a good friend as an accountability partner, and have them ask you hard questions at hard times? (Choose such a partner wisely. Often a same-sex friend is best in this role.) Can you cut up credit cards to prevent the shopping? Can you have a mechanic put a governor on your car engine so you can’t speed? Whatever the temptation, there are dozens of ways to handle it and begin to control it, if you use a bit of imagination. You will still be tempted, and you will crash your spiritual car. But it is possible to reduce the severity of the injury with seat belts, air bags, and rubber tires and bales of hay on the side of the race track. Be creative and be ruthless. Look at your sin while your heart is right and you are not in a weak state. Ask yourself where you failed and why. Then devise strategies to prevent that. For example, I have lived without cable television for decades just to put a limit on the temptations I have to face every day.
- Finally, challenge yourself. If constant sin is destroying you, set small goals. You need to walk before you try to run. Try to go two days without falling into sin. The strategies above will help. Then try to go three days and four days and five days. When you fall, get back on the horse, and try again. See if you can make it a week or two weeks or a month. You will be surprised how clean and undistracted your mind will be when you have spent longer and longer periods of time keeping the door shut and the devil out of your life!
Pray. Dear God, help me to hate evil and to flee lust. Make me aware of sins that are destroying me. Make me aware of bitter attitudes that are poisoning my mind. I repent of my sin and my unforgiveness. Change me. Help me love the Word and spend more time reading it and praying. Help me to have strategies in place to protect me from sin. Help me to have success battling sins and to experience the clear mind and the joy that comes from walking with you. Thank you for saving me! Help me love you more every day.
ΑΩ
Household Words: 
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