If you live in the country, deer country to be more specific, then you’ve probably had to deal with deer eating your backyard plants. There are many creative ways to rid your yard of these uninvited dinner guests. One of the more interesting ways is something called a deer pole.
A deer pole is a hollow pole with batteries inside and a wire coil on top. You place some cotton, seasoned with a little deer scent (deer attractor), in the wire coil and set several poles around the perimeter of your yard. When the hungry deer come along and start eying your plants, they will be attracted to the deer poles and will start sniffing around them. Of course, when they put their wet little noses on that wire coil: ZAP! They get a nice little shock from the batteries. After several of these experiences the deer will learn not to venture into your yard, even though it knows there are delicious plants to be eaten.
This exciting drama is played out in nature all the time; with or with out the use of batteries. By nature, animals learn not to do things that are harmful to them. They learn very quickly to stay away from danger. In many cases, it is a matter of survival.
If this is such a natural phenomenon, why are people so much less likely than animals to learn these valuable lessons? Why do we continue to do things that cause us so much harm just because they provide temporary pleasure? It almost seems…unnatural. Indeed, if there was ever a need for proof that demons are in our world and tempting us all the time, this unnatural behavior would seem to provide that proof.
Maybe its the subtle nature of the temptations we encounter. The Devil’s minions lure us in one transgression at a time. “Just a sip of wine”, they might say. “If wine, why not whiskey?” “If whiskey, why not marijuana?” “If marijuana, why not speed?” “If speed, why not heroin?” “How about a movie with a little nudity? Its natural; you’re only human.” “If nudity is natural, then surely sex is too. Nothing wrong with doing things that are natural. Besides, you want to be cool, right? You’re not a prude, are you?”
Yes, the path to destructive behavior starts simply enough. Once we are able to imagine ourselves doing sinful things, then the leap to actually doing them is a very small one. This is why it is so important not to dwell on sinful thoughts. The more we think about them, the more we rationalize the sinful behavior.
These temptations can also come from our culture and the people around us. We are constantly bombarded with sinful messages every day. We are hit with these messages through television, movies, music, books, magazines, and pop-culture itself. We are told to live for today. We are told that if it feels good, do it. We are told to focus on ourselves and our own happiness and pleasure, even at the expense of others. We are edgy, cool, in-your-face. We are surrounded by images of sex, violence, arrogance, greed, materialism, and anger. We are told that if we do not partake in these things that we are somehow not enjoying life to its fullest. That we are not normal. That we are prudish or judgmental.
Are there demons? Oh yes. Fallen angels and demons that we have created in our own culture. These demons attack our conscience. They numb of to the Law of God that is written on our hearts. They rationalize sinful behavior. They provide us excuses for sinning. “The Bible isn’t clear on that.” “The church needs to be more up-to-date with where society is.” “My god wouldn’t really have a problem with that.”
Our lives are filled with deer poles. Unfortunately, no matter how many times we get shocked, we keep coming back for more. Our lives can hit a downward spiral that seems impossible to get out of, yet we continue in the same behavior that put us on that path.
This is because we are born in a sinful state. By our nature, we are in conflict with God. This is why we must turn to God to help us fight our sinful nature and the temptations we face every day. Because we are sinful, we lack the desire or capacity to resist sin on our own. We need God’s help. God provides us help through the Bible and through the Holy Spirit. We must not fight God, however. We can’t just say, “OK God, I know I’m going to sin. It’s up to you to stop me.”
No, we must take advantage of the help God gives us. We must read the Bible every day, so we can learn how God wants us to live. This will nourish our conscience so that when we are faced with temptation, it will be harder for us to ignore what our conscious is telling us. We must remove ourselves from tempting situations. We must not contemplate or try to rationalize or justify our sins. We must acknowledge them and ask God to forgive us and to give us the strength to turn away from them. We must pray every day. We must be in constant communication with God so that he can guide us through the dangers and temptations of this life. We must count on God to nourish us and help us stay out of the Devil’s backyard.
