During the annual termite inspection of our home, I talked to the “bug man” about other unwanted pests--spiders. As he answered my questions about what could be done to lessen their presence, he told me that they can get inside the house through the tiniest of cracks around the windows. His solution involved, among other things, spraying band of chemical around the outside of the house to create a buffer that would be difficult for them to cross, thus keeping them away from, and hopefully, out of the house.

Satan often functions in a similar way as he takes advantage of little openings and weak places in our lives in his relentless effort to slip into our hearts and corrupt us with sin.

When we look back at how sin entered into humankind, we discover a little opening through which Satan, in the form of a snake, slipped into the mind and then into the heart of Eve. He introduced a snowball effect of evil that has plagued humanity ever since. Even though Adam and Eve had everything they possibly needed as they abode in a perfect and pure environment, the devil brought corruption to them as he planted doubt in Eve’s mind about what God had said.

Genesis 3 begins with these words, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”” (Verse 1, NIV). He deliberately confused what God had said and used it as an opening to work his way in and ultimately bring about the introduction of sin into the hearts of Adam and Eve, consequently affecting and infecting each of us with its deadly impact.

We can rejoice that Jesus Christ came and provided the only way of being delivered from the horrible and destructive eternal consequences of sin. Romans 5:17 says, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”

Yet even as recipients of Christ’s solution for sin, we must be watchful that we do not allow sinful practices to slip into our lives through the tiny openings that emerge when we let down our spiritual guard through negligence and complacency. Just as the house needs a protective band of insecticide all around it to keep out bugs, our lives must have the protective shield of God to safeguard us against the intrusion of Satan. We are instructed about the equipping available to God’s followers in Ephesians 6:13: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” The verses that follow describe the full armor of God as consisting of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit. Without this protective armor we are vulnerable to Satan’s attacks, but with it we can stand victoriously.

Bugs are bad, but sin is worse. Rejoice as you take advantage of the protection that God has made available to you as a Christian!