Articles
Preparing for Satan
In our school systems, our kids practice for emergencies from time to time. We have always had the threat from a fire or a tornado. While we can try and be safe, neither of these is predictable but we plan for our response when they do happen. It's very unfortunate that our kids also have to practice now for emergencies that might arise because someone desires to do harm from a multitude of methods. With these newer threats over the past several years came new plans and policies to address them.
While that may not be a great example to illustrate today's thought, maybe it will help. Our world is ever evolving, and unfortunately so is Satan and his band of demons. We try and teach our kids to be ready spiritually for when temptations come, just like we try and prepare them for emergencies. And like potential emergencies, their list of things to plan for is much different than our's was 40-50 years ago.
Things we never faced, they do. Hollywood 'behaved' back then, at least in comparison to what we see and hear from them now. Some people still had lingering racial issues in our younger days, but I don't recall it being shoved in our face, and certainly not every day. We were able for the most part to believe what was said on the evening news on TV. No one will argue that we never had to worry about where we "surfed" or what we viewed on the internet, we couldn't gossip on Snapchat, FB, Twitter or any other social media platform. Hate speech was probably around, but not 24/7 like today. Sexting wasn't a problem with anybody, even the dredges of society, because none of that existed for us. Sin was "out there" back then and while it was easy enough to find, we could not access it from the palm of our hands 24 hours a day. But our kids today can. It is "being brought to them in living color" (remember that from the 60's?!) at the touch of a button.
And that's just what the internet has brought into the picture, we could talk for hours about alcohol, drugs, immorality, pornography and all those things that were around when we were young too.
Let us work diligently, to prepare our young people to deny Satan. We must know what they are facing, and then we need to act to help them prepare for a lifetime of temptation in advance, just like we do for potential emergencies. Let us train them in their upbringing by teaching them the Words of God and His principles, building in them the Faith that will carry them through life. Finally, let us help them practice for the countless days they must react to situations and temptations. Let us show them by example from our own lives. Let us pray for them continuously, that Satan will not snare them in his trap. And let us use every available opportunity God gives us to educate ourselves and our children about these things.
