“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:13–15, NIV).

“But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14–15, NIV).

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41, NIV).

“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’ ” (1 Peter 1:13–16, NIV).

There is a great scene in the movie Patton where General George S. Patton faces off against the Nazis’ most feared general, Erwin Rommel. Known as the Desert Fox, Rommel had literally written the book on modern tank warfare. The movie sets up the dramatic tension: How will the untested Patton hope to survive before the might of Rommel and his German Panzer tanks? What proceeds is a rout. The US II Corps completely destroys the Nazi army led by their great general. In the moment of triumph, the camera pans to the victorious Patton as he surveys the battlefield. Then Patton cries out, “Rommel . . . I read your book!”

Do you want victory over your spiritual Enemy? You must understand his playbook because he understands yours! His goal is to get you and me to sin. He wants us willfully engaging in activities that dishonor our Lord, distance us relationally from him, diminish our power to pursue our created purpose, and ultimately prove to be self-destructive. To move you down this path he has studied your movements. He has observed your ways. He has watched the game film on you. Specifically he knows two things: your wiring and your tendencies.

By wiring I mean he knows that we are comprised of the mind, affections, and the will. We have a mind that is constantly engaged in a cognitive process, regularly interacting with ideas and reasoning. Additionally we possess a heart that feels deeply. Our affections respond to information by being inclined either toward it or adverse to it. And our will is our internal drive to act.

Our Enemy also knows each of our particular tendencies, our personal inclinations toward certain ideas or behaviors. He knows our particular proclivities—the unique, individual ways we are prone to react to something. Since, the devil is armed with this information, what then is his strategy? How does he work? In order to convince us to willfully participate in insane acts of self-sabotage, he knows he must suggest certain thoughts that will stir our affections—so that we will enact our will. The Scriptures have a single word to describe this moment he works hard to manufacture: temptation. James 1:14-15 says, “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (esv).

The word lure in the text speaks of attracting your mind’s attention. The word entice describes stirring your affections. You have entered into temptation when certain thoughts are solicited to your mind in order to stir your affections toward an activity that’s self-destructive and dishonoring to God, enticing you to enact your will to choose it.

Knowing the Enemy’s playbook is helpful, but what do we do when his attacks come?

Self-awareness is our first and most important response to an attack. What holds my attention? Why? What is stirring my affections? Why does it entice me so? What am I being tempted to do exactly? Sometimes I say it out loud. Deception dies in the light. Drag it out into the open. Be curious about yourself. Be a student of yourself.

The apostle Paul implored his young protégé Timothy, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16 esv). Paul told him to keep watch on his teaching, or his doctrine. Know what you believe, Timothy. But notice he also told him to keep a close watch on himself. Know yourself, Timothy. Be a student of your own wiring and tendencies.

In the classic manual on warfare, The Art of War, Sun Tzu declared, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. . . . If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”*

Let’s not allow ourselves to be in a position where we’ll end up succumbing in every battle.

*Sun Tzu, The Art of War, Leonel Giles, trans. (Mineola, NY: Ixia Press, 2019), 40.

Respond

Why does the devil target your weaknesses toward sin?

What thoughts and actions sabotage you and diminish your relationship with God?

Where do you need to redraw the battle lines in your life to eliminate temptation? How can conversation with trusted friends and with God himself help you do this?