A recent event reminded me of the biblical image that our adversary is like a lion on the prowl (1 Peter 5:8).
My 13-year-old son loves basketball. So when the NBA finals came around, he was all in. As we watched the finals just a couple of weeks ago between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks, it looked like the Suns were on track to be the champs with a 2-0 start in the finals. They were apparently ‘the better team.’ But then something happened: the Bucks stepped up their game and won the next 4 games in a row, securing their place as the champions. As Bucks fans (or should I say Giannis fans?!), my son and I were pretty pumped!
There’s a lion on the prowl mode . . .
I was reminded through this that we as parents/Christians have an opponent as well who is stepping up his game. He’s not simply a challenger, but an enemy. He’s not just trying to win, but to steal, kill, and destroy. And he’s not just out for us, but of our children. He is walking about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
The fact that we can’t see this lion on the prowl (whose goal is the destruction of our children) doesn’t make him any less real, it just makes him that much more dangerous, because we at times fail to take him seriously.
. . . And there are parents in passive mode.
Many parents sadly never fight to save their children from the clutches of this enemy’s jaws until they’ve already been bit, and the tug of war that follows can potentially tear a child apart emotionally and spiritually.
I’m reminded of the truth behind this quote…
“In the race to a child’s heart the first one there wins.” – George Barna
Because of this, as parents, we must capture our children’s hearts early, and always be on the offensive, being proactive rather than passive in our approach to our children’s mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Because Satan is not willing to play fair. He never has. He never will.
There’s a war for our children’s minds…
The enemy knows that “He who controls the mind wins the battle.”
We hear a lot about the word ‘misinformation’ in our culture today, but an even greater form of misinformation than what you’ll hear about in the nightly news are the lies that Satan is feeding our children – lies that can only be combatted with truth from God’s word.
Satan’s tools have always been the same (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life), and while it seems like in previous generations we may have had a couple of wins, Satan is stepping up his game in hopes of an unexpected comeback before his ultimate defeat. And he’s doing it through many different avenues.
The enemy is on the prowl for his prey. He knows the power of just one generation. He’s coming in for the kill. And I fear that many parents are oblivious to it. He’s closing in on our children’s hearts and lives through their friends, their entertainment, their social media, their worldview, and so much more.
“In this battle, our enemy doesn’t take a day off, and so neither can we.”
Our kids are being onslaught with misinformation about truth and life unlike ever before as the enemy steps up their game. And by the time we see visible signs of this invisible enemy’s influence upon our children, it’s often too late.
The only question that really matters?
So my question for you as a parent is this – if the enemy is stepping up his game… are you? Do you have any safeguards in place to protect yourself and your family from his ‘unseen’ attacks? Are you being more intentional than ever before in preparing your child to be the salt and light that the world will need in the days ahead?
What has God been working in your heart about recently that you need to do to help your children get to the next level spiritually? How could you better arm them with the armor of God for this battle they are entering? How can you better equip them specifically with the truth – the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God?
What could you do, starting today, to be more intentional to step up your game for the sake of your children and your children’s children?
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
This article about the lion on the prowl originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
