Pity vs. Hate vs. Fear

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Should we pity, hate or fear the devil? All three? None of the above? I’ve heard conflicting thoughts on this from many people, And I just don’t know. Perhaps it is all three. We should pity him because he never will know the love of God again, we should fear him because he can lead us into temptation, we should hate him because he is against everything we stand for. On the other hand, pity can be dangerous, we should fear no one but God, and as Christians we are called to love everyone. Should be an interesting thread. Your thoughts?
 
To be honest, I’ve never pitied or hated the devil but I have feared him. Feared in the sense that I get creeped out from movies like “The Exorcist” and “The Omen.”

I have learned, however, that the one thing we should fear the most is committing a mortal sin.
 
One alternative is to laugh at him, because he thinks he can defeat the Almighty God, which is like me single-handedly taking on the US Navy with a snorkel and a can-opener! What kind of fool deliberately goes against the Almighty God when all they had to do to become the most beloved angel in all of creation was to acknowledge Him.
 
We should do all three.
Handsome_D said:
we should fear no one but God
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now where did you get that idea? We should greatly fear the encroachment of evil into our lives and the potential for demonic possession, which if one is under when they die, their soul is destroyed and taken to hell. There are many things to fear…
 
“I am more afraid of those who are terrified of the devil than I am of the devil himself.” St. Teresa of Jesus

:nun1:
 
Only God can decide who goes to hell and who goes to Heaven. The Devil has no power over our souls unless we give it to him, therefore, it is prudent to fear God and only God because He is the only one who decides our ultimate fate. The Devil can tempt us, and, if God wills it (as he did in the book of Job) can make life miserable for us, but if we keep our trust in God (like Job) then nothing can harm us.

I will not fear the dark of night, nor the arrow that flies by day- Psalm 91
 
Handsome_D said:
Only God can decide who goes to hell and who goes to Heaven. The Devil has no power over our souls unless we give it to him, therefore, it is prudent to fear God and only God because He is the only one who decides our ultimate fate. The Devil can tempt us, and, if God wills it (as he did in the book of Job) can make life miserable for us, but if we keep our trust in God (like Job) then nothing can harm us.

I will not fear the dark of night, nor the arrow that flies by day- Psalm 91
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I once read a transcript from an excorcism where the priest was overconfident… he stopped fearing the demon he was working on and overstepped his bounds. The demon attacked him and caused him such massive internal wounds that he died shortly after completing the excorcism. THAT is why we should fear evil, recognizing that it is only God that stands between us and utter violation at the hands of demonic forces MUCH greater than ourselves. fear of evil is a good thing, it keeps us from prideful error.
 
We should respect the devil and the power he has, certainly, but the opposite of overconfidence is humility, not fear. I could see the Priest not respecting or acknowledging the power that the demon had and letting the demon past his defenses, but no man should fear the devil,for “if God is for us, who can be against us?” - Romans 8:31
 
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