Today, I will discuss the second quality that makes the devil’s baits effective. The devil uses baits which are pleasant to the eyes and taste to get people in his trap. For example, Eve considered the forbidden fruit to be pleasant to the eyes and good for food when the devil tempted her with it (Genesis 3:6). Presenting sin as if it is pleasant is an old trick of the devil to trap man, and every believer must be wary of it.

If a fellow is controlled by physical senses, he or she becomes vulnerable to the devil’s bait. This is why you must be dead to the flesh. When people always want to satisfy their flesh, they will not be able to control their sexual desires, eating habits, and so on.

The very dangerous thing about the devil’s bait being pleasant to the taste is that if a fellow tastes it once, it can become difficult to stop, just as I described three days ago. The key to avoiding the bait is not to taste it at all. Yes, it looks attractive, but you must not go near it at all. An African proverb says, “What you should not eat, you should not sniff.”

Ask anyone who is addicted to something bad, and they will tell you it all started with a taste. Those who masturbate only tasted it once, and when they saw that nothing happened to them, they did it again and again until they found out that they had become addicted. Those who are addicted to alcohol usually start out as casual drinkers before becoming heavy drinkers. When the trap snaps shut and many of these people look back at their lives, they regret the first day they ever tasted the enemy’s bait. If a snare is prepared by the fowler and you stay away from the bait, you will not be caught in it.

During the Nigerian civil war, there was a slogan used by one side of the conflict: “The price of safety is unresting vigilance.” Please, my beloved, stay as far away from the devil’s bait as you can. If you are addicted to a sinful habit, you need the power of the Most High God to break free from it. Seek help from a spirit-filled man of God and you may also consult a Christian professional counsellor to break free from that addiction.

By the grace of God, you will not become the devil’s prey, in Jesus’ name.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.