When I was a teenager my grandfather died and our family moved into his house in Butler. There was a barn behind the house where horses had been boarded for years. The barn was a magnet for rats. So, I took it upon myself to rid the place of rats. I hate rats. Dad had a few old rusty muskrat traps that I decided to put into action. There were a few holes, cracks and places where rats had crossed, so those were my points of ambush. I dipped the rusty metal traps in hot water to remove my scent (yes, I smelled like a teenager). Using gloves, I carefully placed the traps so that a passing rat would have to step into it.

But, I learned that a rat won’t knowingly step on a trap. You have to hide the danger. So, with a small amount of straw strewn over it, it had been masked. And, to my delight, I caught rats. And I learned an important lesson on Christianity. No one knowingly steps into a trap. But, when its covered up and looks enticing, even the most spiritual of us will step right into that trap. We forget how deceitful Satan is. Satan doesn’t care how prosperous or well-liked we are; he only wants to wreck our testimony, our marriage, our witness for Christ. And his traps are beautiful and exciting and full of promise…until he springs the trap.

My heart grieves at my brothers and sisters who have been caught in Satan’s spiritual trap. They have lost their financial security, their marriages, their Christian witness, and their sense of being pure in God’s eyes. Through beauty they ended up ugly and broken. Yes, God gives second chances, but oh, how much we can lose before the second chance begins.

“By smooth words and flattering speech [they] deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:18). That’s a word for somebody today.