The Bible tells us to be fishers of men, but have you ever considered how Satan fishes for us as well?

Have you ever been fishing?
If so, you know you can’t just trow an empty hook in the water and expect the fish to bite it. You either need bait or a lure.

The bait usually has a smell that attracts the fish and makes them think it’s food. And a lure is designed to look like food as it moves in the water.

The point of both the bait and lure is to hide the hook, and at the same time, convince the fish take a bite.

It’s a cleverly disguised trap.

Now, imagine that temptation is the bait and sin as the hook. The temptation is there to make sin appealing to us.

Now, think about how often Satan casts his bait in front of you. What lure is most attractive to you?

Let me give you a few possible scenarios.

You’re driving to work, and someone darts into your lane and nearly runs you off the road.
The bait is cast.
Now, do you take the bait, and let your anger cause you to sin? Or do you praise God that He kept you safe?

What about this lure?
You’re scrolling on your favorite social media platform, and a seductive image finds it way into your feed? The bait is cast.
Do you let lust get the best of you? Or do you resist temptation and flee?

When someone comes to you with a juicy bit of gossip, the bait is cast.
Do you listen to it, or do you tell them you don’t want to hear about it?
Do you tell it to others after hearing it, or do you tell that person to stop talking about other people?
Do you stand up for the person who is not present to defend themselves, or do you chime in with your own negative words about them?
Gossip is a big one, but most people take the bait without even thinking about it.

What about when someone offends you? The bait is cast. What will you do?

Or when you have an opportunity to cheat or steal and you know you won’t get caught, the bait is cast. How will you respond?

There are so many times in our lives when Satan casts a lure right in front of us.
Do we take the bait, or do we run in the other direction?

Listen to how the Bible describes temptation.

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
– James 1:12-15

A temptation is only tempting to you if it’s something you desire. If money is not a temptation for you, then greed won’t be a struggle in your life. If you are content with what you have, then covetousness and jealousy won’t be a struggle for you.

Sin is only tempting if it looks appealing to you for some reason.

It’s just like that fishing lure. It’s designed to attract hungry fish. But if a fish isn’t hungry, then it wont bite.

The Bible tells us that sin leads to death. Again, it’s just like that fish. When the fish takes a bite of that lure, the hook is set in its mouth, and the fisherman reels it in. Later that night the fish is in the frying pan.

That’s how sin works. It lures us in, and when we give into temptation, we will eventually end up in the frying pan.

That’s why the Bible says we are blessed when we endure temptation and do not give into it.

“Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
– James 1:12

Overcoming temptation keeps us out of the frying pan. When we overcome temptation, we avoid sin, and we are able to live a holy life, filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and we no longer have the shame and guilt of sin holding us back.

Overcoming sin and temptation is a daily habit we need to develop, because the devil is always looking for something he can hook us with. He is out there every day throwing different lures to see what we might bite on today.

If you don’t bite on the gossip, then he might cast a lust lure, and if you don’t bite on that he might cast an anger lure. We need to continue to be aware and diligent in our daily lives so that we don’t get hooked on the bait Satan is throwing our direction.

The Bible says, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

This is a daily discipline that we need to develop in our life.

Every day when you get up, decide “today I’m going to walk with the Holy Spirit and not give into my flesh”. And tomorrow when you get up, make that same decision again. And keep making that daily decision for the rest of your life. Because when you are walking in the Spirit, you are not gratifying the lust of your flesh.