“If I were the devil…”

I recently saw a trend online where people were asking, “If I were the devil, how would I destroy the next generation?” 

At first, I scrolled past it like any other attention-grabbing hook. But then I paused. Because underneath the dramatic question is a very real warning — and a powerful opportunity to check ourselves, our families, and our businesses.

With all the noise, chaos, and controversy flooding the media these days, it’s easy to become numb or distracted from the things that actually matter.

So I read a few of the posts, sat with what they were saying, and wrote down what I believe would be the most subtle and successful ways evil would try to infiltrate and destroy our children, our communities, and the next wave of leaders. (NGL…evil is really coming after us at the moment — it’s time for us to take things back)!

 Here are the points that really stood out to me:

 Distraction Over Purpose. Flood every moment with noise, screens, and scrolling. Keep people too busy or numbed out to hear their own thoughts….or God’s. I know this a a HUGE challenge with my kids (and myself). Something I am working very hard on.

Break the Family Unitt. Undermine parents. Keep families “together” under one roof but totally disconnected. Remove the dinner table, the conversations, the soul-to-soul connection. For me, this all starts with a lack of respect!

Promote Comparison Over Identity. Make social media the mirror. Convince people they need to be someone else to matter. Confuse truth, blur identity, and erase God-given worth. “Comparison is the thief of joy” — and social media is winning here, for sure!

Weaken Critical Thinking. Cancel curiosity. Replace respectful debate with knee-jerk outrage. Teach what to think, not HOW to think. We have GOT TO do better here. Encourage creativity and thoughtful dialogue.…use our noggins more. 

Desensitize to Evil. Turn darkness into entertainment. Normalize profanity, vulgarity, violence, and division until nothing shocks us anymore. Honestly, this one gets me fired up. When someone casually drops filth or hate like it’s no big deal, it’s a clear sign they’re not my people. Just because you’re comfortable with it doesn’t mean the rest of the world wants it in their feed or their life. KNOW your audience, and raise the standard.

Divide and Isolate. Make people pick sides on literally everything. Keep them angry, lonely, and divided. Convince them that no one really understands, or cares. Evil seems to be winning here for sure. Instead of seeking to understand (which does NOT necessarily mean agreeing!), far too many make everything “a hill do die on.” It’s okay to disagree with someone on something major and still love them (I do it all the time).

Convince the Good They’re Not Enough. Exhaust the parents and leaders. Fill them with guilt and make them question whether anything they do really matters. We are literally running ourselves into the ground, and taxing our schedules (and our bank accounts) trying to keep up!

Erase the Eternal. Make God irrelevant. Trade faith for hustle. Strip away any sense of higher purpose or lasting truth. This often happens quietly. We are so “busy” that we let our prayer life slide (the endless hustle was something I struggled with a few years ago, and had to make a conscious effort to get back to!).

Sobering? Yes. But also empowering. Because awareness is the first step toward intentional action.

So I’ll leave you with this: What are YOU doing to make sure this doesn’t happen? 

•  In your home?

•  In your relationships?

•  In your business?

•  In the way you lead?

•  

Because if we want to protect what matters and build what lasts, we’ve got to KNOW our people, FIND our people, and LOVE 'em hard. 

This isn’t just a catchy motto. It’s a strategy for real impact. 

Let’s raise up a generation and build a life that stands the test of time….not because it’s easy, but because it’s so so worth it.

Always in your corner.

Kristin