The Wiles of the Devil
I read a story recently about a spider who built a beautiful web. He kept it clean and whenever a flying insect would land on it, he'd take care of it quickly so others would not get suspicious. On one occasion, a young fly, who was intelligent but not as wise as he thought, was enticed by the spider: "Come and land on my web and rest your wings for a while. I won't hurt you."

But the fly did not trust the spider, especially since he didn't see any other flies on the web. He wasn't about to go there alone. So he flew elsewhere and it wasn't long before he saw a bunch of flies that appeared to be having the time of their lives! He felt safe in a large group and immediately made up his mind to join them.

As he headed toward them, he was warned by another insect: "Turn around! Don't even think about landing there. It's fly paper and very dangerous!" The young fly didn't believe him. "Dangerous?" he said snickering, "Look at how many flies are down there! It looks like they're having a great time dancing around. There's nothing to be afraid of."

You know the rest of the story. The young fly joined the group and never left them--even when he wanted to do so. He lost his life stuck in the glue, but he didn't die alone.

Steve Higginbotham suggested that the moral of this story is: What shall it profit a fly if he should avoid the spider web but get stuck in the glue?

Indeed, what shall it profit? What benefit is there to avoiding one of the devil's deceptions if you fall for something else? Sin is sin, no matter what form it comes in (cf. I John 2:15-17), and the devil is full of tricks. Ephesians 6:11 declares - "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles [plural, SRB] of the devil" (cf. II Cor. 2:11). The devil has a multitude of ways to try to tempt you, and if you are not vulnerable to one line of attack, he'll try another. And he'll make himself seem like an angel of light, if that's what it takes to get you on his hook (cf. II Cor. 11:14).

Don't follow a multitude to do evil (cf. Exo. 23:2; Matt. 7:13). Don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to (cf. Rom. 12:3; I Cor. 15:33). Walk in the light where it is safe (cf. I John 1:7).