We have had Pal for a week now and one of the things I have noticed about him is that he is curious- just like the cat in the picture. Today, when I took him out onto the Lanai for the first time, he spent about 20 minutes just looking at everything and identifying its smell. Curiosity is a good thing, but be careful!!! That certain something may look beautiful, but remember, Roses have thorns. Curiosity was on my mind today, spiked by the picture above and also the one below (which I noticed first). See if you can tell what I was thinking about...
I was thinking about Satan. How this once favored Angel used gossip and trickery to cause 1/3 of heaven to revolt against Almighty God. And his efforts weren't just in heaven- remember Adam and Eve? How about the situations below...
Matthew, Chapter 4
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you.’ and,
‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you don’t dash your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again, it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord, your God.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory. 9 He said to him, “I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me.”
10 Then Jesus said to him, “Get behind me, *n1 Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.
AND
2 Corinthians, Chapter 11
1 I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you do bear with me. 2 For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. For I married you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or if you receive a different spirit, which you did not receive, or a different “good news”, which you did not accept, you put up with that well enough. 5 For I reckon that I am not at all behind the very best apostles. 6 But though I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not unskilled in knowledge. No, in every way we have been revealed to you in all things. 7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached to you God’s Good News free of charge? 8 I robbed other assemblies, taking wages from them that I might serve you. 9 When I was present with you and was in need, I wasn’t a burden on anyone, for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, supplied the measure of my need. In everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and I will continue to do so. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, no one will stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia. 11 Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows. 12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them that desire an occasion, that in which they boast, they may be found even as we. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as Christ’s apostles. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is no great thing therefore if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
Jesus dealt with Satan directly and Paul with his servants. No, the devil didn't make you do that sinful act you are not proud of, he just nudged you in the right direction. Now, the picture of the Gecko does look evil and although we like to think we can recognize evil at first glance, we probably can not. That person you know who is good looking, stylish, erudite and very, very flattering, may be one of Satan's best emissaries. Know your enemy- do not look on outward appearance, but at the spirit of the heart and you will always be able to spot Satan and his cohorts. Take a few minutes and re-read the Matthew passage and remember it- you will need to because Satan is not our equal- he is an angelic being, with powers beyond our own. Do not lose that wonderful trait of youth (and animals) called curiosity; It will keep your thinking young. Instead, gain a healthy respect for our adversary the Devil. If you don't, well-- Curiosity killed the cat!!!