Who's the Devil?: Satan’s is interested in evil, not negotiations
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My long-running obsession with science fiction is probably the natural consequence of my background as a completely unapologetic nerd. Relatively recently, I was sucked into the BBC show "Doctor Who," which is about a time-traveling, human-looking alien who prefers the company of British humans in his travels as he explores space and time, setting right the wrongs committed by any number of alien species across the cosmos.
The doctor's arch-nemeses are the Daleks. The Dalek motto is "Exterminate!" You cannot negotiate with them. You cannot make peace. The only thing the Daleks want to do is kill everything. Even when other antagonists in the series try to ally with the Daleks against the Doctor, they refuse and proceed to try to exterminate all parties involved.
As believers, we have a similar enemy whose only goal is our destruction. Satan's only desire is the destruction and death of everything God has created. Jesus said that Satan "comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10a).
We cannot, therefore, negotiate or appease an enemy like ours. President John F. Kennedy said, "We cannot negotiate with people who say what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable." Describing ISIS, former British intelligence officer Annie Machon said, "You cannot negotiate with a mad dog. You cannot make accommodations for a mad dog." Sometimes, peace with certain parties is not to be found.
Neither should we even try. The former president of the American Postal Workers Union, William Burrus, said, "You cannot negotiate with the turkey over what day Thanksgiving is."
While we cannot negotiate, it still behooves the believer to understand why Satan's goal is our destruction.
Throughout history, conquest and usurpation have always meant the destruction of the symbols of the old regime. Nebuchadnezzar renamed Jewish captives after destroying the temple in Jerusalem from names that honored the Israelite God to names which honored the Babylonian gods. Alexander the Great systematically "Hellenized" every land he conquered, changing the official language to Greek, building Greek cities and hijacking local belief systems with the Greek pantheon of gods. I remember when Saddam Hussein's regime was ousted from power in Iraq and realizing the point of no return had passed when the news showed statues of Saddam Hussein toppling. Even today, members of ISIS destroy symbols of ancient paganism wherever they find them. More locally, we dispute the names of streets, buildings and institutions that bear the names of former Confederate generals and presidents.
Recall how Satan's original aim was also usurpation and revolution. Satan said in his heart, "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; ... I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:13-14). Satan originally set out to replace God's regime with his own, and God seems to have allowed him to think he was somewhat successful. He is, after all, the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Therefore, deluded as he may be about his success, Satan has for millennia pursued the usurper's usual program of destroying the images and symbols of the old regime.
What greater image of God's reign is there than those whom he specifically created to carry it? That means you.
You and I are made in the image of God. "God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27) As the very image of the old regime, you and I must be destroyed.
But do not fear. God is not going to let his own reign be usurped so easily. In the same breath that Jesus revealed Satan's goal, he also revealed his own, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; but I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
Where Satan desires to destroy God's image, God works to restore it through Jesus. God's power is immeasurably greater, and if we turn to him, he will raise his image back up as evidence that Satan's revolution will never succeed. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7).