The Strategy of the Devil

As a Christian, I’ve come to realize that being tempted is like dating. Yes, I said that! In fact let me repeat “being tempted as a Christian is like dating”. Now let me explain what I mean.

Let’s look at the dating analogy. Have you ever noticed that a man’s approach varies based on the type of female he perceives he is dealing with? If he believes you are a sketel, he will make a derogatory remark. If he thinks you are a lady, he may even develop an accent. This is because he realizes that the presentation of his package will determine if he gets the reward of your attention. When that man catches your attention, he starts out small. He may ask for your phone number or even a date.

The more you agree to, the more the stakes raise until you find yourself sleeping with him or married.

If you are a Christian, especially a strong one, the devil will not come to you in just any manner. This is because he realizes that you are quality and won’t respond to or heed any and every kind of attention. The next thing he does is start out by asking you to do something very small. He doesn’t ask you to jump all in at once. It may start with just a small lie to get you out of trouble. It may not even be you but rather a comment your friend made. The trick to this is, the more leeway you allow him, the bigger the stakes get.

If you look in St. Matthew, you will see that same strategy used with Jesus. The devil waited until Jesus needed something desperately and then he started small. Just a simple dare. If you are the Son of God, I dare you to turn that stone into bread. Just a simple dare but each time the dare got bigger and bigger.

I can guarantee you. No Christian who was faithfully serving just goes off the deep end into sin just so. It starts with little dares. It starts with the devil courting you. The more you yield, the deeper and stickier the courtship gets.

What are you yielding today?