3 things I learned from Planet Earth

In nature, usually those animals with there eyes on the side of their heads are prey, while those with their eyes in the front of their heads are predators. (Of course, those with eyes in the back of their heads are mothers and fathers!) Despite the obvious indication from our bathroom mirrors that we are the predatory type, we are prey as well as predator.

In my last post I spoke about how the devil deserves his due. From watching Planet Earth series on the Discovery Channel this weekend I came up with 3 spiritual lessons for prey.

1) Satan wants to isolate you from the herd. There is safety in numbers and Hell's most effective (and not so secret) tactic is to isolate you from the rest of your christian brothers and sisters. Bill Willetts writes in the book "Creating Community" that isolation causes a lost perspective, a fear of intimacy, and selfishness. That in itself is tragically self perpetuating, but consider that when Satan is after you, he like the wolves on the lamb or the lions on the baby elephant will run you away from the protection of the herd.

2) He (the devil) is doggedly determined to wear you out. You cannot keep away from him. When we are first seperated from the herd we think that we can keep him at bay, but fatigue is a reality. You simply have to know that you can't last forever running from the devil. And he will stay on your butt until you drop over.

3) Your aversary wants to devour you. In every capacity, your life will be desimated and destroyed. He will dismantle what took years to build and errode every aspect of trust and faithfulness in your life. Jesus made his determination clear- to rob, to kill , and to destroy- YOU!

Am I inciting fear? Am I exaggerating? No, just warning that as prey we must practice some community to keep our souls safe.