Mmmm…cookies. My friend Paige will now think of nothing else for the next several hours. Can’t blame her. But I digress…
When do you think is the most opportune time for Satan to tempt you with a familiar sin? Call it an addiction or not, we all have struggles that are more familiar to us than others. When do you feel most tempted to give in?
I think it’s generally accepted that Satan kicks us when we’re down. And I think there is a lot of truth in that. He doesn’t care how low we are. He is out to steal, kill and destroy and will use whatever he can to make that happen.
But what about when we are up, maybe celebrating something. What about the events of life that cause emotional highs? Have you ever recognized the temptation to commit the familiar sin in that circumstance?
If we take the time to think about it the answer is probably “yes” for many of us. And I think if we think about it even more we might discover how effective that scheme has been in our lives.
Some time ago I was thinking about all this and wondering what the “draw” was. So I asked God why it’s so effective for Satan to offer us sin during an emotional high. His answer was, “Because you feel like you deserve a cookie.” Now I don’t know about you but a cookie, for me, has carried with it a feeling of reward. If kids are good they get a cookie right? Hand caught in the cookie jar. Cookies meant something. They still do for many of us.
Anyway, God began to show me that during times of emotional highs, we are being “pat on the back” for a job well done in some way. Our adversary comes and says, “You did such a good job. In fact, you’ve been doing such a great job. Here’s your reward; a nice, big, soft (insert favorite kind) cookie.
Now is that cookie going to kill you? In rare cases maybe but probably not. It’s certainly not good for you and will have a negative impact on your body but it’s probably not going to kill. But cookies have a tendency to be addicting. Can you eat just one? I can’t. If I’m eating cookies I’m having at least three. What if they’re on the counter the next day? The next and so on.
Satan’s objective in offering us “cookies” for a job well done is not just that first one. It’s too get us hooked so that we continue to go back to the counter. I think we probably get the point here. (Even though Satan’s goal is too hook us into a pattern of sin let’s not undermine the impact of taking that “cookie” even once. If we eat it, it will leave something in us that will stay until we deal with it.)
That being said, let’s become increasingly aware of the ways Satan attacks. We can only be victorious over a scheme if we recognize that it exists.
Blessings,
Jesse and Kara Birkey
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