Getting away from sin and temptation is probably one of the
most difficult things we have to do as Christians. Through the years people
have tried many ways. They have tried starting private communities where only
believers are allowed. Some have joined monasteries, in hopes of escaping sin,
but the results are always somewhat mixed, because Satan is not easily foiled.
He fights for our souls and far too often makes himself look attractive to us.
We often handle sin like the children in a story reported in
the news paper awhile back. It seems that a mother of eight in Darlington, Maryland
had been visiting next door. When she came home and went into the living room,
she saw her 5 youngest children huddled in the center of the floor, on her new
carpet, very much involved with something wiggly and squirmy. As she got closer
she saw, to her horror, that the children were gathered around a family of
skunks. She screamed, "Run, children, run!" Hearing their mother's frantic scream, each
child grabbed a skunk and ran.
Sadly this story is often a reflection of our lives. We may
have some very troubling things in our lives, yet, try as we may, we can't seem
to run away from them, we just take them along with us.
I Peter 5:8-9a
tells us, "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around
like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and
be strong in your faith."
This passage tells us, rather than running off and carrying
Satan or temptation with us we should stand firm against him! Another
translation says to "resist" him. Being able to succeed in staying
away from temptation is not accomplished by walling ourselves up in a
monastery, but is taking the fight to Satan that keep us free. Matthew 16:18 tells us that when we
fight with the knowledge of God in us, the gates of hell itself will not be
able to stand against us.
So, you have a choice, grab you skunk and run or stand up
and be counted as you join with your brothers and sisters in Christ in the army
of God to overcome Satan.
