Footholds of Hell

and do not give the devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27 NKJV).

The dictionary describes a foothold as a firm base for progress.  The Apostle Paul is saying that we should not allow the devil to have a platform upon which he can begin to build and make progress in our lives.  And we know from other areas of Scripture that the direction he will head when given the opportunity is to steal, rob, and destroy. 

As we ponder the possible chaos that would occur from the enemy having such a stage in our lives, it becomes very important to connect the dots back to what actually gives the devil his foothold – and that would be unresolved anger.  The beginning of this thought is established in verse 26 and says that we ought not to let the sun go down before we have taken care of any situation that has caused us to be angry.  And the reason for dealing swiftly with our issue of anger is because when we don’t, the devil gets his foot in the door to do his dirty work.

It is interesting to note that the Bible assumes that anger is going to happen, but warns us that it is something that we should not entertain for any length of time because it creates a playground for the devil.  Knowing this, it is unfathomable how many people, including those who actually know this information, hang on to their anger and are unwilling to take steps to resolve it.  One of the reasons for our lack of motivation is because anger usually occurs when an offense has happened.  And in order to address the offense in a way that eliminates anger, we must go to the offending party and confront the issue head on.  That can be extremely frightening to most people because we all operate from a base of wanting to be accepted and confrontation places our holy grail of acceptance on the altar of possible rejection.  We would rather suffer in silent anger than to risk relationship. We hope by holding it in, we can avoid the unpleasant possibility of upsetting the offending party and we can keep the status quo so that our wounded heart doesn’t become a problem and the anger just goes away. 

The problem is, it doesn’t.  It can be shoved under the rug, but it always comes back and when it does, it comes with a vengeance that is surer to destroy the relationship than the initial confrontation because it is now inspired by the foothold of hell.  The devil has had time to work his deceitful plan.  He has given us justification for our anger that blocks our ability to assess our own contribution to the offense, which is what God tells us to do in the first place.  Because when we take that inventory before the sun settles on the misunderstanding, we are able to find our own part in the miscommunication that leads to a humility in which confrontation always bears the fruit of righteousness.  Yet, in the fuel of unresolved anger, we are ready to explode into the fire of wrath when the second offense comes – as it surely will in an imperfect world of imperfect people. 

If we are to avoid the pitfalls of our humanity, we must cling desperately to the guidelines given in Scripture to avoid the snares of our own flesh and that of the enemy’s schemes.  Conflict is a given.  Resolution of that conflict is a choice.  And if we do not choose life via the precepts of God’s Word, we will surely find death in our relationships.

When I encounter offenses that are sure to come, I will choose to follow God’s remedy for reconciliation and deal with the situation, according to Scripture, before the sun goes down so that I am not allowing any room for the devil to get a chance to blow the matter out of proportion.  I will also, according to Scripture, assess my own contribution to the circumstances that gave rise to the offense, and then I will, according to Scripture, go to my brother or sister and set the stage for restoration of the relationship.  And I will do this – in spite of how uncomfortable it might make me – because the last thing I need is for the devil to have a base of operation in my life.