DON’T ENTERTAIN EVIL

During the early days when man was created, referring to the Holy Bible, Genesis 2:9, 3:1-6… 

“From the soil, God caused to grow every kind of tree, enticing to look at and good to eat, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now, the snake was the most subtle of all the wild animals that God had made. It asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?’
The woman answered the snake 'We may eat the fruit of trees in the garden.
But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, 'You must not eat it, nor touch it, under pain of death.’

Then the snake said to the woman, 'No! You will not die!’
God knows in fact that the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil.’
The woman saw that the tree was good and pleasing to the eye, and that it was enticing for the wisdom that it could give.
So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.”

There were many ways Eve could’ve prevented this, but unfortunately she wasn’t that smart and also she was too curious. Now Jesus, the son of God had a similar test from the devil. Let’s reflect on how it was, and the response he gave. From Matthew 4:3-11…

“And the tester came and said to Jesus, 'If you are the son of God, tell these stones to turn into loaves.’
But he replied, 'Scripture says: Human beings live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’

The devil then took him to the holy city and set him on the parapet of the Temple.
'If you are the Son of God, he said ‘throw yourself down; for scripture says: He has given his angels orders about you, and they will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone.’

Jesus said to him, 'Scripture also says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’
Next, taking him to a very high mountain, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour.
And he said to him, 'I will give you all these, if you fall at my feet and do me homage.’
Then Jesus replied, 'Away with you, Satan! For scripture says: The Lord your God is the one to whom you must do homage, him alone you must serve.’
Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels appeared and looked after him.”

Having a close look at the 2 scriptural references, and noticing the distinctions between them, Eve entertained the devil by explaining things to the snake, giving it opportunity to lure her into sin, whilst Jesus gave straight forward responses from the scriptures, containing factual statements with a direct opposite idea.
The devil tried just once on Eve and got her. With Jesus, he tried 3 consecutive times because he thought he’d definitely identify a weakness which he’ll use against him. Each time, Satan came out harder with mouthwatering offers.

Don’t jump into conclusion that Jesus is God’s son, so there was no way he’d have fallen for the devil’s tricks. Jesus came onto earth as a human just like us. Do you think the devil would’ve wasted his time on him if he knew he’s definitely going to lose?
Jesus knew he could have failed if he gave imperfect responses and involved conversations, so he gave Satan hostile answers.

In our daily lives, we get tested everyday. A very beautiful lady may befriend you and with her actions, prove to you that she wants to indulge in sexual immorality. Knowing perfectly that we have inadequate self control, we allow her to enter our rooms even at the point everything clearly shows she has sexual intentions. We tend to deceive ourselves that we can change her. By the time we realise, we would’ve engaged in sexual intercourse, hence soul cleavage. Same or similar circumstances may occur on the part of females. Even if we desire to change such people, we can do that elsewhere, and not in our rooms with the presence of her only. Its easy for us to sin that way.

In 1 Peter 5:8 God says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for something to devour”.

Similarly, in James 4:7, God says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
These quotations warn us to always be on guard. The devil uses our own weaknesses against us. Sometimes, we may have knowledge about something as being devilish, but we still may want to try it out of curiousity.
Books which clearly oppose the Bible are what we read. We listen to the devil’s music over and over to the point that we are able to remember the lyrics word for word but we bring out hymn books at church, so we may not be caught fumbling. Violence, sex and other immoralities are shown on TV, and presented as a good thing. Most movies we watch contain secrets that don’t go by the word of God. To avoid falling in the trap of the devil, simply don’t mess with it at all.

Some activities are highly addictive. Desperation leads us into having sexual intercourse, pornography and masturbation. Once any of these take place, it becomes very difficult to put an end to it. Don’t say you masturbate with good intention, so its right, or you watch pornographic films to broaden your knowledge on sex positions, especially if you’re not married. It’s all vanity! Wisen up dear brother or sister.

Don’t try what is of darkness. If something doesn’t uplift God, then it’s against God. In differentiation of good and bad, one has to gain knowledge from the Bible. Read your Bible frequently.

Hebrews 4:12 lets us know that “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart”. One of the most important things in the world is knowing the truth. John 8:32 “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”.

In a nutshell, since you can differentiate light from darkness, avoid possibly any activity that may end you in the devil’s cottage. Amen!