Resist and He Will Flee

The other day, as I was blogging about how the Holy Ghost respects our agency by not hanging around when we don't want Him to, I was reminded of another spirit that doesn't linger long after being asked to leave: Satan. James 4:7 reads, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." The question I have is why Satan flees from those who resist him. The Holy Ghost leaves us alone when we want Him to because He respects our agency (possibly among other reasons), but Satan most decidedly does not respect our agency. In fact, he is actively trying to destroy our agency. Then, why would he turn around and leave us alone so easily? James doesn't seem to be terribly clear on the matter, but I have a few guesses.

It could be that he gives up the fight so easily because he knows he can't win. Joseph Smith taught that "All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not." Perhaps that power extends to these temptation tug-of-wars we occasionally have with Satan. Perhaps his power to tempt us is not as great as our power to resist temptation.

Still, what has he got to lose? Let's say he tempts us to do something, and we say 'no.' What possible reason would he have not to ask again? In theory, he could ask us over and over again until we give in, so why doesn't he?

One possible reason has to do with the Experience systems in most role-playing games. Many role-playing games have a sort of point/reward system that give a player or character bonuses for defeating enemies. Each time a player defeats an enemy, their character gains Experience. Once a character has gained enough Experience, they "level up" and become stronger. Perhaps that is what Satan is trying to avoid. Perhaps the reason Satan doesn't offer us the same temptation over and over again is that he doesn't want to give us too much practice or experience so that we'll become too good at resisting his temptations.

As far as I can tell, Satan's greatest advantage isn't the ability to outlast us or to wear us down with incessant temptations. In fact, it could be that we have the advantage in those areas. Instead, I think that his greatest advantage over us is stealth. I recently watched a video made by a man who loves, and obsessively studies, Asian cultures. In that video, he critiqued a particular anime character who claimed to be a great ninja, comparing that character's tactics to that of a traditional, historical ninja. The critic's greatest complaint against the so-called "ninja"s tactics is that he stayed in the fight too long after he found out he was losing. Normally, ninjas use stealth to sneak up on and strike their targets and then get away before their opponents (or their surviving allies) can retaliate. This is what Satan does, or tries to do. He tries to catch us with our guards down, sneak in, strike us when we're weak, and then slip away before we can properly fight against him. By using subtle methods and only attacking periodically, Satan gives us opportunities to feel safe and let our guards down, giving him opportunities to strike.

Of course, it could also be that Satan leaves us alone when we fight him because he doesn't have a choice. Satan is our adversary, but he's God's adversary, too, and God has the power to make laws that Satan has to obey. It could be that Satan leaves when we fight him because God told him to. However, that explanation feels like a cop-out. It sounds like saying that things are the way they are "because God said so," when there's another, more logical, but similar explanation. Many General Authorities, including President Uchtdorf, have taught that "cannot exist in the presence of light." When we resist temptation, that may invite the Spirit, and when we have the Spirit with us, Satan cannot linger. It is, as I said, rather similar to the arbitrary rules explanation, but it makes a bit more sense.


In the end, though, the reason why Satan flees when we fight him isn't nearly as important as the fact that He does. Whether he flees because he knows he can't beat us, or because he doesn't want to give us practice beating him, or because he's being sneaky, or because he can't endure the Spirit's presence, or simply because God told him to, the fact remains that what James said is true: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." As long as that works, it doesn't matter how or why it works. Satan may have any number of reasons for retreating when we fight him off, but as long as that trick keeps working, it may not be all that important what all of those reasons are.