Temptation - The Devil's Playground, pt.2

In the last post we talked a little about the idea, (actually fact is a better word), the fact, that Satan is responsible for each of your temptations. It's Satan that tempts you to give in to your personal desires and he does it with a specific plan that he has laid out just for you. You see, he understands you. He knows your heart, your weaknesses, your strengths, and even the secret desires and motivations that you thought were hidden and locked away. And he is always looking for the right chance to put the right temptation in front of you.

So how does he do it? How does he manage to get us to make decisions that we never would have dreamed of doing? Or what about those small little silly, even stupid decisions that aren't life altering, but leave you feeling disappointed with yourself, and just a little further away from Jesus? How does he get me not to turn the channel when some junk comes on the TV? How does he get me to lose my temper (in front of my kids) and yell at some guy who wasn't paying attention and cut me off? I know better. But still I do it. Well, here's the best answer that I have.

First, he's a liar. Sounds harsh, but if it walks like a duck . . . Satan really is the world's foremost expert on lying. No one does it better. In fact, here's what the Bible has to say about it.

"He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and father of lies." -John 8:44

So, not only is he a liar - he's really good at it. So what's the point? Well think about it this way. When was the last time you blatantly chose to sin, knowing exactly what you were doing, why you were doing it, that it was a sin, you felt good about it, and you did it anyway. It just doesn't happen that way. Satan fills our head and our heart with misinformation, doubt, half-truths and in some cases outright lies. Well, that's his first tool.

The second is the way he makes bad things, look really good. Just take the example of sexual temptation. Within a marriage, sex is a good thing. It's God's wedding gift to a married couple. But outside of marriage, it's an awful sin that has awful consequences. And Satan uses everything from the physical act itself all the way to a small, tiny second look as you walk past someone, to lure us into sinful spiral leading to spiritual death. We know its a sin when we have impure thoughts. And we know we're letting God down when we give into those thoughts. Yet, we still give in. So how does Satan do it? How does he get us to do something we know is wrong and will hurt us? He makes it look really good!!! He exploits our God-given needs and desires and uses them against us. It's really that simple. Most of the time, sin looks good, sounds good, feels good - well, you get the point.