How Does the Enemy Control People?

In our daily meditations, we examine Satan’s schemes or strategies of attack against humanity. He aims to influence as many people as possible to become slaves of darkness and to control their lives through compulsions and slavish desires. His tactic is to encourage you to submit to increasing sinfulness. Below is how Satan primarily operates:

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Romans 6:16).

Let's talk about how a man can defend himself from being enslaved by the enemy. Jesus spoke about what spiritually corrupts a man, saying:

¹⁴Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ¹⁵Nothing outside a man can make him ‘unclean’ by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him ‘unclean.’” ¹⁷After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. ¹⁸“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him ‘unclean’? ¹⁹For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”) ²⁰He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ ²¹For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, ²²greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’” (Mark 7:14-23; emphasis added).

One of Satan's primary methods of attack is to sow thoughts into a person's mind, thereby affecting their emotions and ultimately their will. Our mind can be seen as a seedbed that receives seed thoughts from three different sources: God, Satan, and your spirit—i.e., the real you that occupies the tent of your body (2 Corinthians 5:4). Satan would love for us to believe that our thoughts are our own and that we should act on every idea that comes to us. Those who have suicidal tendencies may be suffering from demonic oppression by listening to the enemy instead of rejecting such thoughts. We know that Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Jesus said He came that we “may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Evil spirits will try to convince a person that there is no hope and cajole him into self-destruction. Of course, demons are not content with just destroying individuals. They often want to express their personalities or use people as tools or as "food." The enemy seeks to establish a foothold or a beachhead in a person’s life.

In writing on this theme, the Apostle Paul said, “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:26-27). Paul suggests that if you become angry with someone and hold a grudge or unforgiveness, you may give the devil a foothold. Giving in to temptation can become a demonic stronghold, and if not addressed through confession, repentance, and forgiveness, it can take hold in your life with a power all its own. The English word "foothold" is translated from the Greek word topos, meaning "place." The idea is that Satan can gain more territory beyond his initial foothold or beachhead. Our irritability and anger can escalate into resentment, bitterness, and unforgiveness. For goodness’ sake, repent and turn to the Lord so He may uproot those character flaws from your life. Keith Thomas

This meditation is from the series Spiritual Warfare: Overcoming Evil, a shortened version of the more in-depth study: Uncovering Satan’s Schemes