Satan's Wiles

We have all heard the saying, “Give the man an inch, he’ll take a mile.” This is never more true than when we refer to the effect of evil in our lives. When Satan comes with his sinful enticements, we can be assured that he has spiritual death in mind. We must not give him an inch. One of my favorite devotional writers of all time, William Jay, says:

There are many reasons why we should not give place to the devil. One is because his designs are always bad. He may transform himself into an angel of light. And he may endeavor to introduce his evils and mischiefs under misleading names, representing covetousness as “laying up for the children,” and pride as “dignity,” and revenge as a “becoming spirit,” and trimming in Christianity as “prudence,” and conformity to the world as “winning others.” Thus we are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. But we ought not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices. We read of his depths and his wiles—and God, in His Word, tears off all his disguises and shows us at once that his aim is only to ensnare, enslave, rob, degrade, wound and destroy us. The more you give way, the more advantage he has over you. It will always be found much more easy to keep him out, than to let him out.