We have two dogs. One is a three-year-old Pug named Chi and the other is a two-year-old German Shepherd mix named Butter.
When I walk them in the morning, they have a special place down the street where they want to go, but it is a long walk. Pugs get tired very easily and they start wheezing and must go back home.
The problem is that they will not go directly to their special place, because they find so many other things to smell and see on the side of the road. Chi gets frustrated when we turn towards home. However, he fails to see that he brought this on himself.
As Christians, we sometimes do the same thing. We desire heaven but distractions pull us away from our goal. A classic blues song says, “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” People do not do what they have to do to gain the reward.
Satan places obstacles in our way and life becomes like a carnival of sights, sounds and smells to tempt us away from the path.
Little Red Riding Hood wanted to go see her grandmother and take her some food. When Little Red Riding Hood meets the wolf, she tells him where she is going.
The wolf says that he will go to her house, as well. “The wolf ran as fast as he could, taking the shortest path, and the little girl took a roundabout way, entertaining herself by gathering nuts, running after butterflies, and gathering bouquets of little flowers. It was not long before the wolf arrived at the old woman’s house.”/1
The wolf tricks the grandmother and the girl and murders them.
Satan plays tricks and leads us to our death, as well (1 Peter 5:8). He uses our weaknesses to pull us away from God, and like a small child, we wander away.
Recently when I was walking my dogs, two strange dogs from down the road tried to chase us away from Chi and Butter’s favorite place. We stayed away and headed towards home.
Satan does the same thing. “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12, NKJV). “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). However, we may be bit in the process by a desperate and angry Devil. Run, anyway.
–Richard Mansel, forthright.net