Father vs Master

Would you ever call Satan your Father?

Think about it. When we refer to those who follow God and those who follow Satan we tend to use different terminology. While one who worships God usually calls Him "Father", one who worships Satan prefers "Master". When we delve into what each of these terms imply we can only realize how appropriate it is to the respective relationship.

A father is one who leads his child hand-in-hand. A father loves and nurtures his child, and looks out for the good of his child. He may allow his child to stumble in order to learn to pick himself up, but he will always be standing ready to help. The word Master on the other hand elicits a more selfish and inward focus. Instead of children, the master has servants or slaves that he commands to do things which benefit only him. Satan as a master is not concerned for the welfare of his servants, he values only his own vanity and glory.

Why would we want to be slaves to sin?

Some may feel like they have more freedom under the dominion of Satan--they can lie, cheat, sleep around, watch porn, steal, murder, abandon responsibility and live outside of the rules. Life seems easy. They may think this is the definition of freedom, yet it is only tightening the manipulative hold their Master has around their souls. The only reason Satan allows his slaves to participate in these activities is because it benefits himself personally and his ultimate goal, which is to bring a downfall of humanity. He doesn't care that these things destroys a person--that is exactly what he wants. It is how he keeps his followers wrapped around his finger, by disguising evil as good and enticing. And once they have been sucked into the black hole of sin, Satan makes it extremely difficult to get out--he bombards them with temptation to continue on that destructive path in order to ensure that their souls will never be free to escape his hold. Satan is incapable of love.

God is love. God wants us to feel loved and stay in love forever, and to abide in love with Him for eternity. But as much as he wills us to stay on the right path in order to be with Him, he does not force us. He has given us the gift of free will so that we can choose for ourselves to remain with God. Isn't that what every loving father wants? Of course he could say "I'm your dad and I say so", but a father would much rather have his child make the decision themselves.

So do we follow a father who loves us and wants only the best for us? Or do we follow a master who wants to control us and manipulate us? Would we rather be a child of God or a slave of sin?

The choice is ultimately ours.