by James A. Washington

This is probably a new take on an ole premise of mine as I was going through some things and remembered being told that one sure way to get Satan’s attention is to really try to turn your life over to Christ. Apparently one’s personal lifestyle can offer the devil an invitation into your world. Supposedly, as long as you engage in all of the pleasures available to you in this world with no regard to spiritual discipline, Lucifer has no need to spend any energy whatsoever fighting for your soul. A lifestyle void of the Lord voluntarily sentences that soul to eternal damnation. And in case you didn’t get that, an afterlife void of the lord, is the exact definition of hell itself. As we all go through life, I admit that we sometimes lose sight of the obvious. I know I have. A life without purpose, without direction, a life without faith in something is a life spent wandering aimlessly through every worry, addiction, confusion and perversion this world will throw at you. The devil does not need to do any work to gain access to this life. He can just wait at the toll booth entrance to hell and collect unsuspecting souls as they meander by. You know when you’ve indulged yourself so much that the light of the next day still cannot clear your head from the stupor of the night before. What I’m advocating here is that maybe some of us could at least try to make the devil sweat a little bit in his attempts to manipulate your circumstances to his end.

On the other hand, a life dedicated to purpose, built upon integrity and anchored in faith instantly becomes a priority target for Satan’s machinations. I’m trying to make him work every day by appealing to the Lord to allow me to accomplish His will on any given day. Some days I think I succeed. On others I simply don’t do so well. But the desire is always there. The reality is that Satan is coming for anyone who tries to hear and respond to God’s Word. “Some people are like seed along the path where the Word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the Word sown in them.” Mark 4:15. The question then is if you know this, what are you doing to arm yourself against the inevitable onslaught that awaits you for trying to be true to god’s Word? “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14. The point of all this is to merely let you know that as a believer you have a neon sign that shines brightly in this world and the next one. It alerts everyone around you to the true mission of your soul, which in fact is simply to honor God. For the record, Satan cannot stand the thought your love of God could supersede his ability to wreck your world. My limited understanding is that at one point he also loved God dearly. He ultimately came to love himself more. Now his biggest trick is to get you, me or anyone to love him or herself more than they love the Almighty. And if he can get you to love those things of this world that you have a particular weakness for, then his job is done. “For as I have told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach and their glory is their shame. But our citizenship is in heaven.” Philippians 3:18-20.

I pray that you recognize the next trial or temptation headed your way is but a speck on the windshield of your life, a mere splattered piece of nothing trying to stand in your way to your promised land. Please know that any other consideration would be a mistake and probably an insult to God. Keep your eyes on the prize, your feet to the pedal and remember what you see in the rear view mirror is just that, behind you. May God bless and keep you always.