If I were the Devil...

I'm not a Hollywood fan, but I keep up on the news enough to know what's going on. In the past few years, several actors/actresses have died from drug overdoses, the most recent being Heath Ledger. Many people (maybe most people) aspire to the lives lived by these "stars." The lights, glamor, cars, clothing, and cash attract people into thinking that the lifestyles of these stars is what we "commoners" should strive for. And people buy into this... Hollywood, like the rest of society is plagued by abuse of all sorts (drugs, alcohol, spouses, children, men, women....), divorce, disrespect, lack of integrity, and the list goes on...and on... Our attention is drawn to it so much, magazines in the supermarket aisle are plastered with it, nighttime TV shows are centered around it, and the Internet seems devoted to it too. So why is it that society seems to be spiraling downward so fast? To many of us, sin is the obvious reason. But sin has always been present (since that whole apple in the garden thing..). So why now? Why so much? When I heard the following song the other day, it struck me as a pretty good explanation...

If I Were
by Andy Gullahorn

If I were the devil, I wouldn’t wear red
I wouldn’t have horns or a pitchfork
I wouldn’t breathe fire ‘cause it might give me away
But if I were the devil, you’d never know
I’d befriend you quick and corrupt you slow
So you don’t notice until it’s far too late

If I were the devil
If I were the devil

If I were the devil, I’d spend all day
Lowering standards of what’s OK
To think, to say, to watch on your TV
I’d break down the value of promises kept
And fade out truth ‘til there’s nothing left
Except gossip and lies popping up as thick as weeds

If I were the devil
If I were the devil

I might not be as foreign as you think
‘Cause I wouldn’t only show my evil side
I’ve got the time and patience just to wait
And steal your soul just one sin at a time
Like I would, if I were

No, I’m not the devil, but if I was
I’d take God’s people and split ‘em up
To keep their minds off who they’re called to be
So they’re no longer fighting over living or dead
It’s “is it the body or just bread?”
While all the unfed die hungry on the street

If I were the devil
If I were the devil

I might not be as foreign as you think
‘Cause I wouldn’t only show my evil side
I’ve got the time and patience just to wait
And steal your soul just one sin at a time
Like I would, if I were

I’d make moms and dads that never stick around
Pain so bad you have to drink to drown
And guilt so I can kick you when you’re down
And I would, if I were

If I were the devil, I wouldn’t wear red
And I wouldn’t breathe fire ‘cause it might give me away.....

Just a thought...