The Evil One Scores Again

I think I may have used this photo before, but it seems like the most telling to use for this post.  The subject captured in this marble statue is the ugly head and clinging fingertips of a demon.  Although we can't actually see these evil creatures in the world around us, they are there and they are actively seeking to harm us.  This particular demon appears to be sticking his tongue out as he gazes up to heaven -- perhaps, audaciously taunting the Almighty with the attitude of, "Nanni-nanni-boo-boo, the evil one scores again!"

We've seen in the news this week about a dating website (which I will leave unnamed) whose long list of members' information has been stolen by hackers.  This is no ordinary dating website.  When I saw the logo for the site that is shown on the newscasts, I was shocked and appalled.  My first thought was, "This is an obvious work of the devil!" 

Many of you have already seen this in the news, but for those who haven't, I will describe the picture displayed on their homepage:  it shows the lower half of a woman's face with a finger to her lips as she whispers, "Shhh!"  Below the picture are the words, "Life is short, have an affair."  When I saw that picture and those words on the newscast, I felt a shiver down my back.  To me, it was as if the face of a demon was overlaid across the picture and Satan was whispering those words to the weak, foolish men and women who would take advantage of such an offer. 

The whole idea of the website is so Satan-inspired, I'm amazed that so many people fell for his ploy.  But then, I shouldn't be.  Haven't people fallen for his lies since Eve plucked that fruit from the tree?  It seems that no matter how blatant are his efforts, he always finds suckers who will follow the pied-piper right over the cliff to destruction.  As Jesus so plainly told us about Satan, "...there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it" John 8:44.

The brouhaha that has arisen from supposedly secret information getting into the wrong hands reveals a lot of shame, hurt, destruction and even death that results from following the path of the evil ones.  A verse in Numbers 32 reminds us, "...take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out."

Life is indeed short -- that much is true, but twisting the truth is one of Satan's great skills.  Having an affair because life is short is as far from the truth as Satan's goal is from God's goal.  Even Christians have fallen into this trap.  We should all take note of Paul's letter to the Ephesians and practice his admonition to:  "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."  Life is short -- live it to the fullest in the light of God's grace as you follow His sweet path.

Photo notation:  I took this picture in the garden of a museum-mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.  There were four demon head/torsos clinging to a fountain -- which I thought was a rather strange choice of subjects.