Vanity: The Devil’s Favorite Sin

Readings for today: Ezekiel 25-28

“Vanity, definitely my favorite sin.” - Satan

This line comes at the end of a movie called, The Devil’s Advocate, where Satan (played by Al Pacino) attempts to manipulate and coerce a young lawyer (played by Keanu Reeves) into doing his bidding. Initially, it looks like the lawyer will compromise his integrity for a future filled with wealth and power and privilege. In fact, most of the movie teases out this scenario. But in the end, Reeves successfully resists one temptation only to potentially fall to another. His sacrificial commitment to his ideals makes him a hero in the eyes of the people which in turn makes him just as susceptible to the sin of vanity than if he had taken the compromise in the first place.

Pride is definitely the most slippery of sins and represents the greatest weapon in Satan’s arsenal. He uses it to corrupt rich and poor alike. He uses it to attack both the powerful and the powerless. He knows we are all equally vulnerable when it comes to this particular sin. How does he know? Because he was the first to fall prey to it. “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭28:12-19) Yes, this passage is referring to the king of Tyre but as with a lot of prophetic literature, such passages are layered with many different meanings. In this particular case, God is revealing to his prophet what took place way back before the beginning of time. There, in the heavenly realm, when all was good and right and beautiful, God anointed a heavenly being with great power and authority. He placed him in the Garden of Eden and covered him with precious stones. He made him guardian over all He had made. But this being became prideful. He rose up against God. He abandoned his place and sought to take God’s throne himself. So God exiled Satan. Threw him from the heavens. Cast him out of his presence.

Satan uses pride to manipulate and control human beings. He uses it to corrupt even the most pure among us. He uses it to destroy marriages as one spouse starts to compete over and against the other. He uses it to destroy business partnerships as one party starts to believe they deserve more than the other. He uses it against nations, convincing them of their own exceptionalism. He uses it to destroy churches, as God’s people start to look down on each other as “less spiritual” than others. I’ve seen it happen so many times it’s almost become cliche.

How does one guard one’s heart against the sin of pride? By keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus. By never taking our eyes off of Him and the great sacrifice He made on the cross for us. By pondering and prayerfully reflecting on the Cross, we are constantly reminded of our great need for Christ and the sheer poverty of our own spiritual condition. We are reminded that every good and perfect gift comes from God and none it is ours to claim for ourselves. We are far less likely to take credit for the good things that happen in our lives and instead, are far more likely to credit God for what He has done. We walk with open hands rather than clinched fists and we let the Lord direct our steps. We understand that entered this world with nothing and will exit with the same. All of our achievements and accomplishments in this world simply cannot be compared to the glory God will one day reveal in us. And so we humble ourselves before the Lord as a continual act of worship.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 29-32