Lulled Into Carelessness

“Steve Green, who sang six years with Bill and Gloria Gaither, tells about getting to know some of the work crews in the large auditoriums where their concerts were held. The Gaithers prefer concerts-in-the-round, which means extra work for the "riggers," who walk the four-inch rafter beams--often a hundred feet above the concrete floor--to hang sound speakers and spotlights. For such work, understandably, they are very well paid. "The fellows I talked to weren't bothered by the sight of looking down a hundred feet," says Green. "What they didn't like, they said, were jobs in buildings that had false ceilings--acoustical tile slung just a couple of feet below the rafters. They were still high in the air, and if they slipped, their weight would smash right through the flimsy tile. But their minds seemed to play tricks on them, lulling them into carelessness”” (sermonillustrations.com).

While some spiritual attacks are all-out, in-your-face affairs, it seems that most often they are more subtle.  The very first temptation in the Scriptures was like that.  The serpent was crafty and deceitful as he interacted with Eve.  He asked questions to plant seeds of doubt before expressly contradicting the word of God.  By the time that the dust settled from that fateful encounter, the pristine relationship between God and His creation had been shattered.

“Satan's business is not so much in scaring us to death as in persuading us that the danger of a spiritual fall is minimal.”  Like the acoustical tiles below the concert riggers, the devil expertly lulls us into a false sense of security.  The extent of the spiritual danger is often hidden or downplayed.  The apostle Paul warned of some who were “...false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.”  These men were just following the example of Satan, their leader, who “...disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14).

Be careful of being lulled to sleep spiritually.  The fall is farther than you might think.

 

God loves you!

Mike