Satan -- A Really Good Liar

Satan is not a good guy. How's that for an understatement? Yet, Satan is a really good liar! One of the things that makes him such a good liar is that his lies are quite believable. As Christians waged in a constant struggle with the Devil himself, we need to be aware of his cunning ways and his desire to tell us lies disguised as truth. Being familiar with three of Satan's most compelling lies will help us prepare to defeat him.

Lie Number One -- You Aren't Important to the Local Church

As churches grow larger, individual members can sometimes begin to feel as if they aren't that important or that their presence and participation are not really they necessary. When these thoughts begin creeping into the minds of individual Christians, one can only imagine the joy experienced by Satan. If he can convince individual church members that they won't be missed and that their input isn't valuable, he'll win.

What we must do, however, is to recall what the scriptures teach. The apostle Paul, at some length, discusses and illustrates the importance of each member of the body (I Corinthians 12:12-27). Not a single member is unneeded and every member serves a purpose. In His parable of the talents, Jesus describes every person as having something with which he can influence others. Satan might want us to think we're not vital to the work of the church, but that's a lie! Each and every Christian needs to know that when he's not here or not participating, he WILL be missed!

Lie Number Two -- One Little Sin Won't Really Matter

Most of us haven't committed murder, stolen from others, or otherwise brought significant harm to our fellow man. We are, generally speaking, good and nice people. While these statements may be true, Satan will use these ideas to teach us that the "little" sin or two we commit won't really matter. After all, he'll argue, there are a lot of people in the world who are really bad and you're not even close to being like them!

David's one, "private" sin of adultery led him to eventually commit murder (II Samuel 11). Ananias and Sapphira's one recorded sin led to their death (Acts 5:1-11). Even Adam and Eve, who "simply" ate fruit, had serious consequences to deal with (Genesis 3). Each and every time we sin, even if we think it's "little" and inconsequential, all sin matters to God. Again, Satan is simply telling us lies.

Lie Number Three -- We Have Plenty of Time (Later) To Do Right

Satan would have us believe that we have plenty of time (when we get older) to serve God. After all, we've got lots of living to do! In Luke 12, Jesus teaches us about a "rich fool" who thought he had many years to live and enjoy life. His life, however, would come to a very sudden and abrupt end. The same is true for us in that our lives are only temporary. James describes our lives as "vapors," here for a moment and then they are gone (James 4:14).

Countless men and women have believed Satan's lie and have then recklessly chosen to live their lives as they wish, "planning' to begin their "obedience" to God later in life. Of course, many of those people never lived to fulfill their life-plan. Instead, we should follow Solomon's advice when he tells us to do God's bidding now, even while we're young (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Listening to Satan and his lies will always harm us. Doing what God has asked will always help us!