Gerhard Forde: Two Tricks of the World's Prince

In the language of Luther, we are under the sway of "the prince of this world". Note that he is not the king; he is for the time being only the prince who has usurped the rule through sin. It is against him that the battle must be wages. His is a very subtle and crafty rule. It is not merely that he tempts us to the more obvious sins of greed, avarice, tyranny , and injustice, but also the more subtle kinds of "religious" sin: that of despising the world and neglecting its concerns. For if he can get us to be so "religious" that we leave the world, he can have it all to himself.

- Gerhard Forde, Where God Meets Man