Working It In

"Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." -James (James 4:7)

This is just an interesting thought (a suspicion) that comes from a few experiences, a recent one in particular:

I can image the enemy as a risky individual, tempting his own fate, trying to pluck possessions from the grasps of humans. Imagine you have an investment in something; something you've put most of your resources in for the last 55 years of your life. You've built a nest egg. You've committed yourself. Imagine the property you've been investing in for the last 55 years of your life - where all your money has gone into - was actually owned by someone else. You've started down this financial path years ago, hoping that the heirs of the property would not reclaim this invaluable plot of land. You've been hoping that the rightful claimers would continue to be unaware of their wealth. Here's the crux: what would you be like, you crafty scoundrel, when coercing the heirs? When you, on occasion, would meet face-to-face. You only stand on a lie, your claim is invalid, so you will push hard, but not too hard. Too hard, and your ground will crumble beneath you, and they may actually become more convinced, more confident of the value of that which is theirs. You must distract, not go too direct.

This thought came when I just remembered that I had had this crazy intense struggling within myself last week. There was this thought, this destructive thought, that seemed really attractive to me for a few minutes to nourish/to think on, but decided to stiff-arm it and suffocate the flame. At the time, it was so intense and attractive, I thought it was going to be something I'd have to work at for a while. I thought, "Oh, no, here we go now. Here comes a wave of this thing to battle for a bit." But I just remembered: I'm done with it. It didn't last but for minutes. I snuffed it right out.

Thinking about this, I get the feeling that the enemy is tempting his own fate when he tempts us sometimes: like trying to pull quills from a person's writhing arm. If your not careful, you may actually push them further in as opposed to get them out. These things work themselves in with barbs that go against the grain. Have you ever tried to get out a wood sliver and ended up pushing it deeper? I think the enemy get confounded, like a guy futzing with a door hinge and pinches his fingers. The last thing he wants is a more trusting and dependent relationship between humans and God, but that's often what results from human men and women choosing to concede to Jesus's defense of themselves rather than them defending themselves.