We know that Satan is a liar and the “father of lies”, but he likes to mix in just a little bit of truth to make his lies seem reasonable. His favorite tactic is to offer Christians a short cut without following the path God has laid out for us one faithful, weary step at a time. He shows us a super highway that will speed our progress and avoid the hills and obstacles that lie ahead. How do I know it is his favorite tactic? We read in the Bible of him using it time after time, sometimes with great success. The lie is that it will take us to the same destination in which we are headed. Although it appears to be a wide and popular highway that runs parallel to our path, it slowly veers away from God and His plan for us and we would wind up in a very different place.
Satan and Jesus both knew that His destiny in leaving heaven was to eventually rule and judge the world. Satan offered him a shortcut to that reign that would avoid the pain and sacrifice of that path leading to Golgotha. Satan would grant immediate dominion over the entire world if Jesus would simply worship him. Jesus refused that false shortcut to that cheap imitation of the victorious reign lying ahead of Him by quoting and obeying God’s command to worship only Him.
There once was a male quartet that travelled the South singing gospel songs in churches and other gatherings and they blessed all who heard them. They had a unique sound and the enemy told them if they took his shortcut to fame and fortune, they would be able to attain their goal of reaching more people with the message of the gospel and get there quicker. They took that super highway shortcut to become nationally known. They always made sure to include one gospel song from their past at every live performance, but a line from one of their most popular songs signaled how far they had veered from their original calling; “Sometimes I wake in the arms of a lover and I don’t remember her name”. That is hardly an endorsement for sexual purity or marital fidelity and it certainly isn’t the gospel lyrics from the path on which they were traveling before they took the shortcut.
More than once Satan has tempted me to take his popular shortcut around the mountain or storm lying ahead of me. Once, I actually took the on ramp to that wide, smooth super highway before the Holy Spirit prompted me to hit the brakes and turn around. The only way to avoid falling for Satan’s favorite ploy is to follow Jesus’ example; know and obey God’s word and the prompting of His Holy Spirit from within us.