Know Your Enemy
The truth is not always pretty. As I was teaching a lesson on Satan this morning I thought how odd this teaching must sound to those who do not know or love the Lord. It may even sound pretty harsh to those Christians who do not know their Bibles. Satan is a hard reality of life in a fallen world.
What I think is so hard for lots of people is that the Bible so clearly teaches that you belong to the Lord or you belong to the devil. In John 8 Jesus says, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. …You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. (John 8:42,44). 1 John 3 puts it this way, “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”
We can say it any way we want but the bottom line is that if we are not a follower of God then we are – by default if not by direct decision – following Satan. If we are not actively working for the glory of God then we are actively working against Him.
Some of what I have been thinking about with regard to Satan is how effective he is at what he does. The Bible says a lot about him but specifically teaches that he is a tempter (Matthew 4:3), an accuser (Revelation 12:10), a deceiver (Genesis 3:1-5), and a devourer (1 Peter 5:8). He can take what God meant to be good in this life and turn it into something that brings pain, sorrow, and deception.
This seems especially true with marriage. God created the family as His structure for our societies. There have been many studies done and published comparing the “success” of the child raised in the two-parent, intact family and the child of a single-parent home because of divorce or never having been married. The children in the two-parent homes routinely do better, less drugs and alcohol, less teenage pregnancy, and better academic success. This is not to say that a child from a single parent home can’t be successful nor that every child from a two-parent family will be.
What I wonder about is how Satan is involved in the day to day of our marriages. In general (because he obviously isn’t visiting every Christian home) it seems that the evil one is deceiving our next generation about marriage. We have gotten so caught up in living in the world that many people in intact marriages are no happier than those single mothers or fathers. How can a family live in peace with the push on our children to be involved in everything offered and such demand on our finances to own the big home and the new cars, and the place at the shore?
We’re either rushing along to the next event or spending way too much time at the office so we make all the payments that marriage and family life have taken a back seat. Satan must be doing a jig! Why? You and I may be lost to him – already won to Christ and a part of the kingdom of God. BUT, if we can make marriage look so miserable that the next generation doesn’t want anything to do with it or our Biblical commitment to it – that’s a coup for Satan!
Many of us live in very committed marriages. Divorce or separation is never a part of our thoughts but we live separately in the same house. I often hear women say, “We’re both so busy we’re like ships that pass in the night.”
These busy times are a part of life – or so we tell ourselves. But what do our behavior and attitudes toward our husbands say to the next generation. Are our kids being raised in a Christian home or in a home where two professing Christians live but have little to do with each other? Do they witness love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?
What would happen if we thought about what God intended for our marriages and family life and then prayed for that kind of marriage? So many of us are easily threatened by a simple question. We’re so busy that we know we aren’t doing it all well so a question sounds like an accusation. What if we would think before we give a quick and angry response to a simple question? What would our children learn if we consistently spoke and acted in love and gentleness toward our husbands?
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12) We have an enemy but our husbands are not him.
Stop and pray, “Lead me not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”