One of the Devil's most powerful deceptions is the oppression of free volition. He is a slavemaster seeking slaves, those who follow him blindly and passively. One of the primary ways he does this is to rush us, to overtake and overwhelm us, like a roaring lion. The devil permits no time to think or consider.
But this is his subtlety: because he knows we must choose freely to commit iniquity, there must come a point, initially or ultimately, in which we knowingly, willingly, and deliberately rebel against God. Otherwise, he cannot accuse and condemn us.
In the garden, the woman could not deny knowing God's command. She, though knowing God's command, used her own judgment and reasoning to determine her actions, instead of submission to the God of Creation. Adam was not deceived. Thus he from the beginning knowingly and deliberately disobeyed.
So it is with us. Yet from this deliberateness, Satan likes to rush us. If our normal state is one in which we thoughtlessly sin against God, he has an advantage that is tremendous.
This is why Peter commands awareness: "Be self-controlled, be watchful." In this passage, the Devil is the roaring lion, the one who paralyzes his prey, stunning her into passivity.
The moment before we think, speak, or act is the difference between life and death, heaven and hell. The awareness of the ability to choose must be guarded. I believe this is what the scriptures mean where it is written, "Guard your heart, for it is the source of your life." We are to guard our wills like a prison guard does an inmate or a prison. He determines who enters and who exits. He has the the keys the open and close doors. Our will is the key to our lives. We ultimately have one choice: to accept or reject our Creator's will.
Regret is knowing we could have done otherwise. The devil condemns and accuses us right here. He goes back to that moment of decision, that moment of deliberate rebellion or passive omission. He takes us back to the crossroad, the fork in the road of our lives. And he shows us how we knew we could have done otherwise, and how God even put obstacles in the path of sin that we ignored.
The Spirit takes us there as well, but not to condemn us. He convicts us so that we may come to the crossroad of repentance. God's Spirit wants us to turn around and go back in the direction God led. This too is a moment of truth for us. Will we return, or will we remain in rebellion and accusation?
The choice is ours. It always has been.
