To be honest, it is quite insidious. And yet, it is also quite effective. Which is, I suppose, what makes it all so alarming. Allow me to explain…
Each week, as my wife and I mow the lawn, we first cut our grass. This involves running our two zero-turn riding mowers, followed by getting into the various nooks and crannies with the push mower. After this, we run the trimmer. (Of course, if you are from the southeastern United States, you might well call this a “Weed-Eater” irrespective of the actual brand). And after all this comes the edger. It alone gives the concrete driveway and sidewalk that straight edge that makes it look polished.
The very last step in the process is the application of weed-killer to any obstinate holdouts. When this happens, I walk around the yard and the driveway, searching out any weed that has dared to persist in the face of our onslaught. Once discovered, I apply the appropriate measures.
Much of this resistance occurs in the cracks and/or pressure lines cut into the concrete. For whatever reason, weeds seem to love taking root here. Every few weeks, a new yield seems to crop up in these obscure places.
As you might surmise, the outcome is never in question. Rounding it all up, the few squirts of isopropylamine salt so applied inevitably achieves its intended effect. The newly sprouted plant, having happily absorbed the moisture applied to it, also naively absorbs the poison.
And once it does, the consequence is inevitable. Within a day or two, as the chemical works its way into and throughout the plant, the green leaves begin to turn yellow. The process of photosynthesis is thereby curtailed; and the plant soon withers and dies.
Now, from the perspective of the unfortunate plant, it has simply taken in moisture. It then works to ingest that moisture and maximize its benefit for the purposes of continued health and growth.
But alas, the hapless plant has been duped. In anticipation of nourishment, it began its standard absorption processes. But in so doing, it also opened itself up to contamination, and eventually, to extermination.
What it never knew was that all of this was intentional on my part. You see, from the get-go, I had intended, first to deceive, and then to eliminate the ill-fated plant.
Reflecting on all of this, I have been reminded of the King James Bible’s injunction to beware the “wiles of the devil”, as found in the New Testament Book of Ephesians, chapter 6, verse 11. The New International Version translates that verse this way: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
In the original Koine (or common) Greek in which the New Testament was written, the word employed here and variously translated as “wiles” and “schemes” is the word “methodeia”, which translates as “a predictable (or pre-set) method used in organized evil-doing” (or “well-crafted trickery”).
In this case, I readily admit that I schemed to deceive the hapless plants adorning the seams of my concrete driveway and sidewalk. My purpose, all along, was their demise.
Such might also be said of the Devil and his schemes with regard to many a hapless believer. His whole purpose is to do harm to those who choose to root themselves in any context that does not suit his chosen purposes. When he discovers anyone thriving apart from his wishes, he sets about employing a vast array of crafty schemes of deception that serve only to hinder or harm them.
Little wonder that (in the New Testament gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 10), Jesus admonished us to beware of the evil one, whose only agenda regarding us is to “steal and kill and destroy”.
Thus, an astute believer would do well to beware the deceptive schemes of the Devil. For whenever Satan proffers us something that purports to be in our best interest, such will undoubtedly not be the case.
Beware his enticements; you may find them so enticing that you want to lap them right up. But be careful what you swallow. For anything the evil one presents to us as much needed and life-sustaining will invariably prove to be something quite deadly in disguise.
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/ephesians/6-11.htm;
https://biblehub.com/greek/3180.htm;
https://biblehub.com/john/10-10.htm.
Each week, as my wife and I mow the lawn, we first cut our grass. This involves running our two zero-turn riding mowers, followed by getting into the various nooks and crannies with the push mower. After this, we run the trimmer. (Of course, if you are from the southeastern United States, you might well call this a “Weed-Eater” irrespective of the actual brand). And after all this comes the edger. It alone gives the concrete driveway and sidewalk that straight edge that makes it look polished.
The very last step in the process is the application of weed-killer to any obstinate holdouts. When this happens, I walk around the yard and the driveway, searching out any weed that has dared to persist in the face of our onslaught. Once discovered, I apply the appropriate measures.
Much of this resistance occurs in the cracks and/or pressure lines cut into the concrete. For whatever reason, weeds seem to love taking root here. Every few weeks, a new yield seems to crop up in these obscure places.
As you might surmise, the outcome is never in question. Rounding it all up, the few squirts of isopropylamine salt so applied inevitably achieves its intended effect. The newly sprouted plant, having happily absorbed the moisture applied to it, also naively absorbs the poison.
And once it does, the consequence is inevitable. Within a day or two, as the chemical works its way into and throughout the plant, the green leaves begin to turn yellow. The process of photosynthesis is thereby curtailed; and the plant soon withers and dies.
Now, from the perspective of the unfortunate plant, it has simply taken in moisture. It then works to ingest that moisture and maximize its benefit for the purposes of continued health and growth.
But alas, the hapless plant has been duped. In anticipation of nourishment, it began its standard absorption processes. But in so doing, it also opened itself up to contamination, and eventually, to extermination.
What it never knew was that all of this was intentional on my part. You see, from the get-go, I had intended, first to deceive, and then to eliminate the ill-fated plant.
Reflecting on all of this, I have been reminded of the King James Bible’s injunction to beware the “wiles of the devil”, as found in the New Testament Book of Ephesians, chapter 6, verse 11. The New International Version translates that verse this way: “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
In the original Koine (or common) Greek in which the New Testament was written, the word employed here and variously translated as “wiles” and “schemes” is the word “methodeia”, which translates as “a predictable (or pre-set) method used in organized evil-doing” (or “well-crafted trickery”).
In this case, I readily admit that I schemed to deceive the hapless plants adorning the seams of my concrete driveway and sidewalk. My purpose, all along, was their demise.
Such might also be said of the Devil and his schemes with regard to many a hapless believer. His whole purpose is to do harm to those who choose to root themselves in any context that does not suit his chosen purposes. When he discovers anyone thriving apart from his wishes, he sets about employing a vast array of crafty schemes of deception that serve only to hinder or harm them.
Little wonder that (in the New Testament gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 10), Jesus admonished us to beware of the evil one, whose only agenda regarding us is to “steal and kill and destroy”.
Thus, an astute believer would do well to beware the deceptive schemes of the Devil. For whenever Satan proffers us something that purports to be in our best interest, such will undoubtedly not be the case.
Beware his enticements; you may find them so enticing that you want to lap them right up. But be careful what you swallow. For anything the evil one presents to us as much needed and life-sustaining will invariably prove to be something quite deadly in disguise.
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/ephesians/6-11.htm;
https://biblehub.com/greek/3180.htm;
https://biblehub.com/john/10-10.htm.