Common Sense Schemes

We had a sermon at church a couple of weeks back about Satan the Schemer. Above was the title slide from the Powerpoint. Spooky eh? Wow, I mean, if Satan and his schemes are that evil and frightening, why would any of us mess with him?

That got me to thinking. The truth is that (almost) no-one would mess with an evil demon if it was an obviously evil giant, and looked this scary, Red with wings & horns, etc. But what if Satan might look more like this...

Would you be more likely to let him into your house? Would you listen to what he had to say? Would he be welcome at your dinner table? Listen to what the Apostle Paul said:

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness - 2 Corinthians 11:13-15

And just like Satan himself, his schemes often don't seem evil, they just seem like common sense. Exact revenge...if you let them get away with it, they'll just do it again, either to you or someone else. That just makes good common sense right?

You gotta look out for ole number one. If you aren't cheating you're not trying. Who in their right mind would report cash on their income tax statement? I mean, c'mon, their bleeding us dry as it is. We're two consenting adults, it's nobody's business how I live my life! I Just want to be happy, doesn't God want me to be happy? Oh, so you think you're perfect? Don't you judge me! It's my body, I should be able to choose to do whatever I wants with it. It just wasn't a good time to have children. We don't need a piece of paper to legitimize our love...

You've heard 'em, probably even said 'em. We can still be friends, and the kids can go to his place every weekend, it's better than us fighting all the time. I just want my children to be happy, spanking a child just teaches them to be violent. Drink responsibly. You've got to vent you frustrations, let them out, you'll be much happier if you do. It's a disease, not a sin, there is nothing I can do about it, it's not my fault...

Now, I'm not saying that everything that seems to be common sense is a scheme of Satan, but we need to be aware. Satan is far too crafty to walk up and say "Psst, hey, look at this, it will destroy your home, devastate your children, ruin your career, steal your health, then you get to go to Hell for all eternity...All it will cost you is everything!

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death
Proverbs 14:12