Lions with Dentures

Rumor has it, there are certain foods that can’t be eaten while wearing dentures. Delicious items, like corn on the cob, or a fresh, ripe apple are an ever-elusive culinary prize to those who wear dentures. At least that’s what I’ve learned from those Polident commercials featuring Mrs. Brady.
Just as one with dentures craves a fresh cob of sweet yellow corn, dripping with butter and lightly salted, the devil and his minions crave power over humanity. Our souls are a delicacy to Satan. Human beings were made for the purpose of bringing glory to God. Satan is a trickster, and will do whatever is in his ability to distract humans from their purpose of glorifying God.
To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, the greatest trick Satan ever pulled was to convince the world that he doesn’t exist. It is hard sometimes to believe in a completely evil being interfering with humanity. If Satan is so evil, why would he care what happens in my pitiful little life? I don’t think he does care. I don’t think he takes notice of me at all. At least not until I take notice of God.
When we live independently from God, Satan doesn’t care about us. It’s when we start running toward the gentle sound of God’s voice that his interest is piqued in the details of our day. I’ve seen this countless times in the lives of friends teetering on the brink of that precipice of choosing God or choosing the world. It often seems that havoc breaks out in their lives, which either pushes them off the edge and into the loving arms of Christ, or keeps them bound in fear, continuing to live their lives in the dark.
I speak not only that first decision to follow Christ, but of every decision which serves eternal consequences. Choices like where to attend college, what job to accept, who to live with and who to marry impact our eternity and the eternities of those with whom our lives are joined. Every decision we make is an opportunity for us to choose God or to choose the world. When we yield our lives to Christ, Satan tries to influence us, because he wants that power back.
Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not the kind of Christian who believes that every parking space close to the grocery store is a divine gift of my guardian angel, nor do I believe that the maladies and mistakes of everyday life are evidence of the hand of Lucifer himself. I do believe that there is a distinct and real supernatural plane of life that is dominated by angels and demons at work within the mundane human realms of home, work and school. And I believe, because of the reality of both the supernatural and the physical that Christians need to be aware of a few things that happen in this world of ours.
Peters says to his friends and fellow believers that the devil is a roaring lion who is always ready to pounce and devour Christians. Living in a time when a possible consequence of a devout Christian life was martyred by literally being eaten by lions, I’m sure Peter’s friends paid attention when he commanded them to stay alert.
This verse used to scare the crap out of me. I thought at any second, the devil would ambush me, my demise was imminent and it wouldn’t be long before I felt the sting of his bite. I have in fact heard the roar and felt the sting of that lion’s bite. It’s arrogant to think that Satan himself is directly involved in my personal life, he’s got bigger fish to fry, like the blood letting in Darfur, sex tourism in East Asia and poverty in America. But I do think that it is theologically accurate to accept the actions of a lesser demon messing with my head.
It wasn’t until after that first realization of Satan’s influence in my life that I realized something else. Despite his continued attempts to manipulate me, to remove my faith in Christ, and to make me ineffective in spreading the sweet gospel of our Lord, Satan cannot harm me.
Satan, unlike my Heavenly Father, is not omnipotent. He doesn’t have any special powers that I cannot defend myself against. He is just very good at what he does, which is lie. Big lies, little lies, lies that are obvious, and lies that are not so obvious.
I must do precisely what Peter commanded and stay alert. I must stay alert by staying in the truth. I must guard my heart and my mind with the words of Christ Jesus. I must be specific in the truths that I learn in order to combat the specific lies that Satan will whisper into my ear. Satan is not omnipotent or omniscient, he cannot read my mind, but he can read my actions. He can see the ways in which I react to his lies. When I react, he knows which lies work and which do not. By my reactions, I cannot give the devil a foothold into my heart.
Because I am sealed with the Holy Spirit and protected by the blood of Christ, Satan cannot hurt me. His roar is tremendous and I do fear him, but I am not afraid of him. None of his lies can affect my eternity, there is nothing in this world that can separate me from the love of Christ, and because his spirit is in me, I cannot be left behind.
My life is enticing to Satan, I am dripping with butter, and he hungers for a piece of the power that exists in my life because of Christ. But I am that ever-elusive cob of corn. His teeth have no power over me. He can roar all he wants, but he cannot bite.