Your Enemy

News Flash! Satan hates God. Satan hates everything that God loves. Satan hates you. Satan hates your family. Satan hates your church. Satan hates all of your friendships. Satan hates healthy relationships with other Christians. And because he hates with such a vengeance, he is out to destroy them.

Almost everything I mentioned involves relationships. And relationships are from God. Satan hates those healthy relationships in your life and he seeks to destroy them. This is nothing to be afraid of because we will have victory over him if we recognize his tactics.

If you're not paying attention, he will use you to tear down relationships. He will use you to destroy your church. He will use you to destroy your family. He will use you to destroy your friends. He will try to destroy you, as well, in the process.

This sounds daunting and frightening but it does not need to be. The reason I'm writing this is for us to sit up and be aware of the enemy's tactics so that he can't easily use us. So many times in my life I have cooperated with Satan, not realizing at all what I was doing. Now, when situations come up where I am angry or frustrated with people or organizations, I often ask myself what could I do that would be the most pleasing to Satan; the actions and attitudes that most cooperate with what he's trying to accomplish. And then I make sure I do the opposite.

I want to be quick to recognize anything in myself that might prompt me to be unloving with my thoughts, my words, or my actions. Insecurity, envy, jealousy, greed, pride. Aargh! How these sins can chip away at a loving attitude towards others. And I've been guilty of all of them. Not once or twice, but many times throughout my life.

A redeemed child of God still has that nasty sin nature residing deep within. Just when we think we've silenced its ugly voice, it surprises us. Over time its power gets weaker, but until the day we die, we will have to contend with its ugliness.

We are warned over and over in God's Word to guard ourselves. "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)

That “someone” might be you. That “someone” might be your friend, your spouse, your pastor. And the enemy might use you to help in “devouring” him or her.

"Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it." (James 4:11)

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7)

"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)