gotchya back!

My sister plays this game called “gotchya back.”  She bates you toward some type of physical mischief (a pinch, a punch or a trip) so that she can then retaliate and say ”gotchya back.”  Her hope, of course, is that you’ll respond in kind and keep the game going.  This drill can go on for hours and the problem for me is that my sister ALWAYS wins! The moral of the story you ask?  Don’t engage in a fight you can’t win.  In other words, I KNOW I can’t beat my sister in the “gotchya back” game, so I don’t even try.  In the very same way, I KNOW I can’t beat the devil and his tricks…so I don’t even try.  

Wrong!  I try all the time!  I put myself in situations that tempt me toward sinful behaviors and then expect to somehow be victorious. Consider the following examples of everyday fights we think we can win:

• We argue with the patrolman for giving us a speeding ticket (when we were speeding!) while the devil keeps us from admitting we were wrong.  (2 Chronicles 36:12 “He never gave God a thought; repentance never entered his mind.”)
• We watch trash on TV while the devil pacifies us into believing it’s just “entertainment.”  (Psalm 101:3 “I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar.”)
• We expect an apology from someone while the devil convinces us that, if the tables were turned, we would always apologize humbly and quickly.  (Psalm 119:29a “Keep me from lying to myself.”)
• We attempt to reason with our teenagers while the devil toys with our tendency toward quarreling and useless conversations.  (Titus 3:9 “Do not get involved in foolish discussions.  These things are useless and a waste of time.”)
• We buy cookies when we’re on a diet while the devil tricks us into thinking we can eat “just one.”  (1 Corinthians 9:27 “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.”)

Don’t try to beat the devil and his tricks; you’ll always come in second.  As my girlfriend often says:  “don’t even go there.”