How Does the Devil Think? “If I Were the Devil” by Paul Harvey

It’s hard for born-again Christians to consider the evil that lurks in the devil’s mind and what motivates his evil works.  

God created Satan to live in His presence as part of the angelic realm, to love and serve Him.  But when God created man in His image, higher than the angelic realm, Satan rebelled against God and was cast out of Heaven.

What must that have been like?  

Cast out of glory, and into a world created for God’s glory with human beings created in God’s image, Satan’s evil desire was to take control from God and to possess and destroy all that belonged to God. 

He’s Still Doing It Today

Throughout history, we’ve seen Satan’s devilish works.  As Peter has warned, he seeks to devour mankind (1 Pet 5:8).  And from the beginning of time when he deceived Eve (Gen 3), to the end of time when he will seek to deceive the whole world (Rev 12:9), his purpose is to destroy man.

If I Were the Devil by Paul Harvey (1918-2009)

From 1951 to 2008, radio broadcaster Paul Harvey reached as many as 24 million people per week. He was deemed the “most listened-to man” in radio broadcasting, famous for his “rest of the story” radio shows.

On a radio show in 1965, Harvey presented the narrative “If I Were the Devil.”  It’s known that Paul Harvey was a Christian, so the purpose of the broadcast was to bring a revelation of the devil’s work in the mid-1960s.  That was a time of great social and political unrest and increasing sin due to compromising ethics, morals, and values. It was also the decade when prayer in school became prohibited (1962), the hippie culture with sex, drugs, and rock and roll arose, and young people increasingly left the church.

So Harvey used his show to expound on what he (or anyone) might do if he were the devil.  The point was to highlight how Satan thinks and works, which is as true today as in the 1960s.  The only difference is that the devil’s work has become more exposed in our culture but is sadly unseen by more people.   

Listen now to Paul Harvey’s “If I Were the Devil.”

How Should We Think About How Satan Thinks?

We should not fear. We must remember that our directives come from the Lord and His apostles, who taught His truths.  We are to be witnesses worldwide, telling people about the saving and transforming grace of Jesus (Mat 28:19, Acts 1:8).

• We can do so with confidence, knowing that “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4)
• We can do so with boldness, knowing that we can “put on the whole armor of God” and “be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Eph 6:11)
• We can do so empowered by the Holy Spirit, as the apostles and Paul were.

“you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” — Jesus, Acts 1:8

And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Eph 6:19-20)