The Predator

On July 16 in a house north of Kalispell, a couple was awakened at 1 a.m. by the noises of an intruder in their home. The couple followed the noises to the basement. The wife stood at the steps to the basement as the husband went outside and looked in the basement windows. As she looked down the stairs, she saw a mountain lion, looking back up at her. The couple called the sheriff's office. Minutes later, a Montana FWP biologist and two sheriff's deputies arrived. The biologist said the lion was young, adding that "Typically, young cats are the ones that get into trouble with people." The lion's youthful lack of savvy and experience cost her life.

Earlier this summer I was with two friends in the mountains when we came upon a large cow elk lying just below a ridge. The fresh blood indicated we had arrived only minutes after the attack. The elk was apparently walking just below the ridge, blind to its predator on the ridge above. The deep puncture wounds on the back of its neck and the absence of any sign of a struggle were evidence of an experienced, highly-skilled hunter, unlike an adolescent lion breaking into a house.

Jesus Christ had some disciples who were seasoned outdoorsmen. One was Peter, who used the experienced, predacious lion to describe a potential threat for all of us:

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NIV)

Have you ever been walking in the woods and cut across fresh tracks of a lion or grizzly? If you have, I bet no one needed to remind you to be aware of the possibility of an encounter with a dangerous animal! Peter was saying that we need to regard the devil the same way. The apostle Paul, one of Peter's contemporaries, also used another wily predator to describe the devil:

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3 NIV)

And we do this so that we may not be outwitted by Satan;

for we are not ignorant of his designs. (2 Corinthians 2:11 NRSV)

A cunning serpent who has designs to outwit us. Some might say they don't believe there is a devil who wants to devour us. (That is probably design #1!) Should we live in constant fear of being devoured by Satan? Should we never walk in the woods of life again? God forbid!

What should we do then? Learn how Satan attacks-from the inside, through temptation. James said:

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. (James 1:13-16 NIV)

We are tempted only in the areas of our vulnerability. James said that we are 'dragged away and enticed by our own evil desires'…not the way you might expect. A good analogy is eating. Temptation to sin is somewhat like craving our favorite food and Satan is a gourmet chef. He will prepare and present your favorite sins at the most opportune time, when you hunger for them the most. You know you shouldn't fall for it, but your appetite still drives you. As we learn the dangers our desires can lure us into, we also need to know the provisions for help from God. Paul wrote:

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)

Paul said everyone is tempted and there is no 'new' temptation...not even one of ours. He also said God is faithful; he will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. God will provide us a way out of the temptation so we can withstand it; whether we take the way out is up to us. You can walk away from the buffet, or you can allow yourself to give in to your appetite; the choice is yours. If you give in, however, don't try to blame it on the Devil; he is only the cook.

Satan does not force us to sin...he just gives us the opportunity; in the same way, God will not overrule our decision to sin…He simply provides us the way out.

Be careful! There's a lion out there that makes cougars look like pussycats!