Recently, Federal Express hand-delivered a package to our front door.  The professionally-wrapped envelope intrigued me as we were not expecting anything special in the mail.  As we tore the parcel and opened the sealed envelope I was dismayed when I discovered it only to be junk mail.  It was from a mortgage company soliciting special rates on their financing programs. This is a new procedure for businesses to get you to open their correspondence and read their offers. 

     As I threw the package in the trash, I considered how Satan works on a similar level.  He presents sin in a sincere and intriguing fashion.  He peaks our interests and causes us to be excited about the potential it offers.  But once we open it up, it fails to deliver; on the contrary, it disappoints and deceives.     

In his book, The Pursuit of Holiness, Jerry Bridges contends, “We must never consider that our fight with sin is at an end. The heart is unsearchable, our evil desires are insatiable, and our reason is constantly in danger of being deceived.”  Satan always finds a way to get to our front door.  He carefully and intentionally packages sin in a modest and reasonable fashion. Regardless of where we live, we are susceptible to sin and its condemning power.   Discard sin’s contents immediately and think twice about opening unexpected packages.