What's the Bait in Your Trap? - by Matthew McNeil

What draws you away from God is the bait in a trap

The devil is so real, as are his snares.  He is putting up the greatest fight for young people now that I have ever seen.  Here is the scarier part:  he has a specific snare JUST FOR YOU.  A friend of mine, Isaiah Tuck, brought this notion to mind a few weeks ago, and this past Saturday my wife and I saw C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters performed on stage; needless to say, I’m still thinking about it.  Pictured to the side is a trap that many of you will recognize.  This trap is not meant for bears, small rabbits or even fish.  Its intended victim is an unsuspecting mouse.  Different prey require different snares.  The same is true for you and me.  What are some snares that you have seen used by the devil to keep people from God’s will for their lives?  Some blatant ones would be drugs, alcohol, and pornography.  You may say, “I’ll never be caught in any of those snares,” to which the devil knowingly grins and replies, “You’re right, but THIS ONE will do just fine.”  No, you may not be given to the aforementioned traps, but what about the need to have material things?  What about the house you live in, the car in your driveway, or the job that seems to give you access to all the things you want?  If God asked you to serve Him in a way that caused you to have to give up your accustomed way of life, would you be willing?  I want to be free to follow Him wherever He leads, and if that means not having any or all of life’s luxuries, I say, “so be it.”  This world isn’t my home anyway...

But you say, “That trap won’t work on me either.”  OK, so you can’t be tied to anyTHING (unlikely), but what about anyONE?  Oh sure, he or she is quite the catch (hmmm...), maybe even “the one;” all your friends and family love this person, and he or she is all you can think about.  Is he?  Is she?  A boyfriend or girlfriend, or even a spouse or child for those of you who are married, isn’t a bad thing at all; however, placing more importance on that person than on God is sin—it’s idolatry.  Does Satan have you trapped in worshipping a loved one more than the Lover of your soul?  If it’s hard to gauge yourself by that question, try this one:  who do you consider most when it comes to how you spend your time, God or someone else?

Sadly, if none of those snares work, the devil has another one that WE carry on us at all times—ourselves.  Whether it’s pride, or the fact that we’ve bought the lie that God doesn’t really have our best interest at heart, unwillingness to surrender to God’s will means we’re trapped by ourselves—handcuffed and hands tied when it comes to living life the way our Maker has called us to.

Love not the world (1 Jn. 2:15).  Is it any wonder why the LORD tells us not to love the world?  It’s because its ruler is Satan, and if we buy into it, we’ve taken the bait.  The devil is fighting—fighting to keep you lost if that’s your spiritual condition, and fighting to keep you ineffective if he has already lost you to the Savior.  “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8).