Sneaky, Sneaky

On Wednesday and Thursday of last week I decided to fast. I don't exactly know why, I just thought it would be a good idea. I usually don't eat breakfast anyway, so I decided to skip lunch and committed to not eating until supper. It was something I've never done before (more than anything because my metabolism used to work so fast that a 12 ounce steak would leave me hungry again within 20 minutes) but it turned out to be an awesome thing. Depending on God for such a small thing, keeping my stomach from growling all day, really opened my eyes.

One of the things that was brought forth is the sneaky, sneaky ways of Satan. I don't know about you but I don't think I consciously consider the affect Satan is having on me and others during the course of a normal day. Sometimes I feel his presence during the big things but forget the little things he does.

Case and point, no less than 5 times each day did I nearly eat something without thinking about it. The snack that the school provides for my kids on Wednesday was warm chocolate chip cookies (one step under green olives and pizza for my favorite food) and before I even thought about it I stuck my hand in and pulled a cookie out. I barely caught myself and, of course, saved the cookies for later. Another teacher offered me a piece of candy that I took and opened before remembering my commitment. Both days were full of opportunities to eat without thinking.

The point is not that I avoided temptation. I doubt God would judge me for eating the cookie or send me a one way ticket to Hell for eating the offered mint. I don't think it would have been a sin and there certainly was no intent. The point is, that Satan is one sneaky son of a gun. Sin or no, he nearly had me breaking my commitment without even thinking about it. How often does he do that each day with real sins? It's something I don't think about but now that I've seen it first hand, it really makes me consider the impact he has on our lives. I'm reminded of "The Screwtape Letters" in which the elder demon writes fondly of an occasion when he used the stomach to gently push a curious atheist away from a book that might have raised questions. It was simple, it was discreet, it was sneaky, and it was EFFECTIVE.

As much as he most certainly is the Lord of Lies, Satan is just as much the Sultan of Sneak (you know you like the alliteration!). And in the words of John Turturro, "I fear (we) have underestimated the sneakiness."