March 19, 2013

Crafty Little Devil

Scripture of the Day:  "For behold, at that day shall he [the devil] rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.  And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say:  All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well-and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell." -2 Nephi 28:20-21 (The Book of Mormon)

WELL....we already see this happening, and its hard to imagine it getting much worse.  It would be easy to say this idea of being stirred up to anger against that which is good only pertains to individuals who do not follow Christ, but I see this even among 'saints'.  I'm positive I am guilty of being angry against that which is good a time or two myself.

What stands out most from these verses is the devils craftiness.  The words pacify and lull are action words.  They take a lot of effort.  I imagine myself trying to 'pacify' my baby when he is sick or upset.  Or when I've spent hours trying to 'lull' him to sleep and he just won't give.  Despite my best efforts sometimes nothing works.  It's exhausting and very time consuming.  Then I imagine Satan trying equally as hard to 'pacify' or 'lull' me into following his ways. He works hard, and sometimes succeeds.

It's when we think 'all is well' or when we've become complacent that we can be sure we have fallen trap to his snares.  Nothing he has to offer is of value.  In fact he desires to 'cheat' us like the verse states.  He takes something from us without giving anything worthwhile in return. We are being robbed of blessings that could rightfully be ours if we would be more realistic and honest with ourselves.

We must always be active in our progress towards God and doing what's right.


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