Natural Enemy

In the animal kingdom, all species have a natural enemy, a predator. A natural enemy is a species that is determined to kill and destroy the other species. The most common, or at least as seen on Saturday morning cartoons, are cats to mice and dogs to cats. Another set of natural enemies are the wolf and the sheep. Then there is the well-known natural enemy to chickens: Colonel Sanders.
Each one knows what their enemy looks like. Mice know what a cat looks like. Cats know what a dog looks like. Sheep know what a wolf looks like. Chickens know to run and hide when a man in a white tuxedo and goatee approaches them with a butcher knife.
Humans also have a natural enemy. An enemy that seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. This enemy prowls around like a lion, looking for someone to devour. This enemies name is Satan.
Satan has made it his purpose to bring about the destruction of mankind. He does it primarily through enticing mankind to sin. Satan has been sinning from the beginning and wants humans to sin, “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.” (1 John 3:8a NIV)
Satan has been described like a lion, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NIV) Like a lion, one of Satan’s tactics is to get the prey alone. When a lion chooses its prey to devour, it does so by trying to separate it from the herd. One of Satan’s tactics is to get someone to believe that they do not need to be around other believers. Whether it is through deceitful tactics, fear, or even ignorance of the Scriptures, Satan does not want people to be gathered together. When people are gathered together in Jesus’ name, he is with them, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” (Matthew 18:20 NIV)
It is never good for anyone to be alone. God stated it from the beginning and it has been reinforced throughout the Bible. “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12 NIV) Do not allow Satan to separate anyone from the group.
Another tactic that Satan uses is to deceive mankind into thinking something is not sinful or as harmful as it actually is. To an insect, the Venus Flytrap looks safe and inviting. The insect will land on it and then the plant will close and consume the insect. Satan acts the same way, appear to be harmless and safe, but thoroughly deadly. He does it by planting a sinful desire and making it seem good and pleasing, just like he did in the Garden of Eden, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” (Genesis 3:5,6 NIV). Satan used something that was pleasing and desirable, yet they were told by God, not to eat of the tree.
Satan is the natural enemy to mankind. Learn to recognize who he is and what he does, much like the chickens that have recognized Colonel Sanders.