Our pastor took us by surprise today, reading the account of the devil trying to tempt Jesus from the Gospel of Luke rather than the Gospel of Matthew. The order of the final two temptations are altered in Luke's version, but what caught my ear was that the devil said, when tempting Jesus with authority over all the kingdoms of the world "... it [authority over the world] has been given to me ... ." It is this line that leads people to believe that God gave Satan power and dominion over the Earth. However, the passive tense of Satan's statement does not say who gave him such power. The answer is: we did (and do). Satan has no power over us that we do not allow. Disturbingly many people cede this power over to Satan willingly.
Much of the evil in our world comes from people who turn their back on the teachings of Jesus for their own selfish desires. The mistakes of Eve and Adam are repeated time and again by people who turn their backs on God and who try to hide from God. It is through my succumbing to temptation that most of my troubles arise. Thankfully, God is ever patient with me, but I know that He would prefer that I get my act together.