I suppose an entire book could be written about this, but I’ll be brief about my objections to it.
Where’s “My Voice”?
If this meme is aimed, as I suspect it is, at helping Christians navigate the inner “voices” in their heads, it is striking that it omits the voice of the human whose head it is! Must everything in my head be either from God or from Satan? What about my own thoughts and feelings and habits and attitudes and dispositions and beliefs and decisions and biases and desires and assumptions, and what about all the hearsay that’s always bouncing around in my head? Does the author of this meme mean to suggest that there are only two players in my head, and that I myself have no voice there?—or that the many voices of hearsay that I can remember have no voice there?
For example, the first entry on the Satan side of the list is “Rushes”. Am I to assume that every time I feel in a rush, it must be the fact that Satan himself is talking to me? Or perhaps, to lessen it a bit, that some satanic influence is talking to me? Or, to lessen it even further, that I have simply not yet learned to avoid all the satanic influences I’ve had in my life?
This seems rather a short-sighted view. And I’ll talk more about “rushes” below.
Exceptions to the God Side of the List
The meme suggests that God does certain things, and that Satan does other things, and that there’s no overlap. I think this is false, at least in some cases. Let me demonstrate from the “God” side of the list some things that Satan also did in the Bible.
“Leads”
God is not the only one who “leads” people. Evil humans also lead people. Here’s one exception:
For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect.
Mark 13:22. ESV.
Indeed! Isn’t the very point of being a false christ or prophet to mislead people by way of appearing to be the real deal? Why, then, wouldn’t Satan pretend to do any of the things on this “God’s Voice” list?
“Enlightens”
Wasn’t the Serpent purporting to enlighten Eve in the Garden? Did he act as if he were explaining a thing about which she was confused?
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:1-5. ESV.
And doesn’t it say of Satan that he would masquerade as an “angel of light“?
And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
2 Corinthians 11:4. ESV
“Comforts” and “Calms”
Wasn’t Satan purporting to comfort and calm Eve about her concerns in the Garden? And look how people were falsely set at ease in these passages:
the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord God.
Ezekiel 13:16. ESV
They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.
Jeremiah 6:14 and 8:11. ESV
These exceptions are just off the top of my head. Surely, there are more that have not come to mind.
Exceptions to the “Satan’s Voice” Side
“Rushes” and “Urges”
Is Satan the only person who rushes people? Consider these passages:
11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover.
Exodus 12:11. ESV.
Or what about the angels rushing Lot out of Sodom?:
15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”
Genesis 19:15-17. ESV.
And did Jesus not urge the Christians to rush out of Jerusalem when the time came?:
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!
Matthew 24:15-19. ESV.
And what about Jesus’ conclusion to this parable?:
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
Matthew 5:25. ESV.
And what about the angel’s instruction here?:
Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
Matthew 28:7. ESV.
“Frightens”
How in the world did this get on the list?! God frequently frightens people in the scriptures, and he is described in faithful terms often. What Bible reader does not know this?
Look how the Hebrews were frightened when God gave the Ten Commandments. Shall we opine that, since they were frightened, it must have been the voice of Satan at work, rather than that of God?:
18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:18-21. ESV.
There’s so much about fearing God in the scriptures that it seems ridiculous to go on much further. God and Jesus asked people to do many things that frightened them. The fear was not a sin; it was the giving in to the fear that was a sin.
“Confuses”
Jesus’ own teachings frequently confused his own disciples. Should they, then, have considered that what they were hearing from Jesus was “Satan’s Voice”?
Consider this snipped of conversation between Jesus and his apostles. Was this not confusion on their part?:
16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.
Matthew 15:16-18. NIV.
Or what about this discussion at the Last Supper?: John 16:16-33 at Bible Gateway. (opens in a new tab)" rel="noreferrer noopener" class="ek-link"> See John 16:16-33 at Bible Gateway.
Frequently, as people are learning things, they feel confusion along the way. This is no sign that Satan is talking to them; it’s part of learning.
“Condemns”
It appears that the author of this meme is not familiar with the fact that God condemns certain things in scripture, and that he even condemns some people. We’ve already talked briefly about the fear of God, and it should seriously shake us to the core when we realize that something we’ve been doing is sinful. We should feel the foreboding threat of condemnation, and then we should repent. That is we should change our ways.
Indeed! How do you think the Pharisees should have felt when Jesus rebuked them here?:
Snakes, brood of vipers, how may you escape from the condemnation of Gehenna?
Matthew 23:33. DLNT
If they felt condemned at this, was that any proof that Jesus was speaking “Satan’s Voice”? Or could it be that they needed to understand and feel the weight of the seriousness of their situation?
Yes, it’s true that Jesus had not come to condemn them yet, but did he not promise to condemn such sinners on his return?
46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. 47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.
John 12:46-48. NIV.
Conclusion
This meme is typical of the kind of careless, mindless fluff that floats around. What it amounts to is “If it feels good to you, it’s from God, and if it doesn’t feel good to you, it’s from Satan.”
But this is very dangerous thinking, for Jesus himself called people to undergo hardship and suffering—neither of which feel good—and to deny themselves daily and “take up their cross”. So where’s all that reflected in this meme?
It is not.
