The Apostle Paul told the Ephesians, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). Wiles are tricks and deceptions. Satan does everything he can to deceive, trouble, and harm anyone, especially Christians who are trying to serve the Lord. Billy Graham once said, “Satan and his demons are known by the discord they promote, the wars they start, the hatred they engender, the murders they initiate, the opposition to God and His commandments.” You may wonder how all this is possible, but the truth is that the great majority of people today are almost wholly ignorant of God’s Word (the Bible). This makes them easy to deceive, especially when Satan does know Scripture and uses just enough of it to sound legitimate. This is true of many false religions.

}Satan was created as all angels were. But he was the brightest and most beautiful. He “had it made,” so to speak. But, as the Bible says, “Pride was found in him.” Isaiah 14:12 describes Lucifer’s fall. “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” It’s hard to imagine anyone, especially an angel, being so very foolish!

}Pride is so often the problem. Pride is the chief reason so many people cannot be reached for Christ. An unbeliever may tell you, “I want my freedom of thought and freedom to do as I please.” What foolishness! Pride is his problem. and pride, the opposite of humility, is one of worst of sins. God hates pride, especially the type that makes one feel better than others. Sadly, it is so very common that, as Isaiah 5:14 tells us, “Therefore Hell has enlarged itself and opened its mouth beyond measure; their glory and their multitude and their pomp, and he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.”

The devil also uses other people to lead us astray. The influence of other people is very powerful. Jesus warned us, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Mt. 7:15). “Birds of a feather flock together,” so be very careful with whom you associate closely. I don’t mean to shun others as unworthy, but just look out for anyone of bad influence, and get away from him. Paul warned his protégé, Timothy, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from suchturn away”(2 Tim. 3:5). Speaking of intellectuals, Paul added that they are “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). That is the big problem with college professors today. And, sadly, their atheism is rubbing off on untold thousands of young and impressionable minds.