You lied to me!  Perhaps one of the harshest sentences in any language is that one.  No one wants to be lied to, deceived, tricked or otherwise diminished by another.  The other day Rhoda and I were waiting for my daughter at her house when we noticed a hummingbird poised at my granddaughter’s basketball goal.  The goal is bright red and the little bird thought it had arrived at a great big red flower.  After a moment it was gone – after figuring out it was not a real flower.  It was one of those “ if only I had a camera” times.

Satan grows those great big red flowers for deceiving human hearts.  “…your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour…”. (I Peter 5:8 TNV).  He can also transform himself to make the real bad look real good.  “…for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light”. (2 Cor. 11:14 TNV).  Elizabeth Browning brilliantly depicted Satan’s nefarious ways in her poem, “Aurora Leigh”, when she wrote, “the Devil’s most devilish when respectable”.

How much trouble will Satan take to try to deceive us “hummingbirds”?  Whatever it takes. He only quits trying when we draw close to God.  When we stay close to the cross, he can’t come there. But, we must be ever vigilant.  In the book of Revelation, chapter 2, John says that some folks simply do not know the depths of  Satan. Yes, he is real and yes he wants “hummingbirds” to fall for the fake great big red flower.  He desires all to follow him, not God.

Watch our for the great big red flowers!  Several years ago I wrote a poem and I think it speaks to the issue of not being on guard against the wiles of Satan. In this case it ends tragically as it always will when one becomes a friend of Satan.

DONKEY FLATS

Two men met where two roads cross.

One man was old and one was young.

Where to, young sir?

Where do you go?

To Donkey Flats, sir.

Why there young man?

Men only go there when all is lost.

All is lost sir and I am lost too.

Everything is lost that I held dear.

Cards, drinking and women

Took wife, children and home.

So I’m going to Donkey Flats sir.

And I won’t be coming back.