It was just another early December day at the Horsetooth Store, Gas and RV Park outside Fort Collins, Colorado, as employee Lori Jones conducted inventory and restocked shelves. Suddenly, she looked up to see “Mama,” a doe deer, inside the store, “looking at the sunglasses. Then she looked at the ice cream and over at the chips,” Jones told CBS Denver. “I kind of did a double take.” When shooing the deer away didn’t work, she broke out a peanut bar and lured the doe into a nearby field. Jones then returned to work, but soon looked up to find Mama was back, this time with her three fawns in tow. It took another peanut bar to draw the family away from the store, and Jones said she has learned her lesson. “You should never feed the deer because they’re going to keep coming back.” [CBS Denver, 12/21/2017]
If you ask me, we are a lot like that deer and we often allow ourselves to be lured around by things that appeal to our desire. You see, the Devil knows what we like. He knows what will whet our appetite. And he knows if he can get our attention, he can lead us where he wants. And sadly, when we fall for his schemes, we have a tendency to bring others down with us.
Go back to the beginning, to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-8). There God gave his creation, Adam and Eve, a place to live and he told them that they could eat of any tree in the garden save one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Armed with that knowledge, Satan began to plant seeds of doubt in the woman. He began to question what God had said and he caused Eve to question is as well. Then, when he had her where he wanted her, he began to make the fruit of the one forbidden tree look more appealing that any other thing in that garden. Eve ate…Adam ate…and both of them quickly realized their mistake. God punished the Devil, he punished man and from that time he began to try and save man from his sins. Yet man continues to be lured into sin by the Devil.
The lesson here is this…while we all sin and fall short of what God would have us to do (Romans 3:23), it is up to us to quit taking the Devil’s bait. Quit allowing the Devil to lure you away from what is good and right. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can eat the Devil’s candy and not be tempted to want more. Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2) and it keeps us from the hope of heaven. Sure what the devil offers look good. but what God promises looks better!
“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God…tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:13-15)
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