WILES

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the WILES of the devil – Ephesians 6:11

The devil employs two main strategies: Temptation and WILES. A Wile is a scheme that is hidden to deceive. It is intended to lure the victim as if by a magic spell. Wiles are not as obvious as temptations. They are craftily covered to lead one into the grip of deception. Although the Bible uses the word “wiles” once in the New Testament (Eph.6:11), Scripture consistently warns us against deception. The word “wiles” is generally used to express deception through trickery and all the tactics and methods that go with such. It has to do with cunning or skill applied to no positive purpose. A wile is a ruse aimed at creating a false impression. Satan himself personifies wiles as he works his craft against humanity. The devil deals in wiles. He is the master of wiles. He deceives and lies in order to discourage, weaken, ensnare, and trap the unwise. He goes to work daily to cause confusion, discouragement, frustration, imbalance, and lethargy.

Here are three examples of the devil’s Wiles at work:                      

The devil exaggerates the pleasures of sin while minimizing its danger, true nature and outcome. Hebrews 11:24-25 says of Moses: He “refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.” The devil dangles passing pleasures of alcohol, gambling, pornography, adultery, fornication, and the like, painting appealing pictures of the “joy” that sin can offer! But he will be silent on the danger, risk, outcome, and the ugly side! With colourful images, he displays the seeming fun and joy of satisfied appetite, causing the victim to act impulsively. If you’ll pause and think, inquire deeply and consider long-term consequences, you’ll frustrate Satan’s wiles. He wants you to act on the immediate pleasure of sinful desire. He inflates immediate gratification, while minimizing the venom of sin. The bait looks good, but when you take that bite you have taken in the ugly poison of sin.

The devil has a cunning ability to find openings into lives through emotions and moods. He watches stealthily, waiting for a mood swing or an overwhelming emotion, to step in and lead into sin or defeat. Paul said, “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (Eph. 4:26). When a person is angry and takes that anger with him into the next day, and carries it along for weeks, months, and years, the devil will seek an entrance into such a heart for his evil purpose and to the victim’s downfall. God wants you to use His Word and prayer; take a careful inventory of your moods, emotions, and grudges you carry. Expel every hurt feeling; delete the habitual, destructive thoughts you entertain. The devil can use those things to slowly erode your righteousness and character or to lead you into sin and gradually turn you away from God.

Like a professional, Satan packages and repackages sin in neat, attractive bundles. He advertises modernized maggot-infested parcels of materialism.  He remodels immorality and wraps unrighteousness in sophisticated parcels. It takes very close scrutiny to smell the stench of sin, hear the buzz of maggots, and discover the filthy muck of iniquity. The devil tries to beautify depravity, to make sin attractive and iniquity appealing. He dresses up decadence in deceptive garments, to sell to the highest bidder. The ill-fated victim ultimately discovers faeces in false dishes! The devil is a specialist at selling sin and marketing immorality. He knows how to elegantly package sin so that it doesn’t look like anything repulsive. He is skilful in presenting pollution in neat pretty parcels so that his victims may look, admire, desire, be captivated, and embrace garbage.
How can you stand against such a wily enemy? Put on the Whole Armor of God and stand ready for battle, against Satan’s schemes. Truth is the only antidote for deception. Stand on the Word, by the Truth, and in Victory over all demonic Wiles!