The Nature of Our Enemy
One of the foremost rules of warfare is: know your enemy. The more you know about your enemy-how he thinks, what motivates him-the better you are able to devise a means of counteracting his moves and defeating him. To overcome the enemy of our eternal spirit, the devil, the first thing we must know about him is his nature.
The devil is often depicted humorously as a little imp with a pitchfork sitting on a person's shoulder and whispering naughty things into a person's ear. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The devil is always seeking our destruction. He is forever on the prowl, never satisfied with his most recent kill. It is his nature to destroy, to kill, to maim, to devastate. Jesus said that the devil comes at us with the purposes of stealing anything of material value from us, killing our relationships, and destroying our physical and emotional health and ultimately, our lives (John 10:10).
The devil is a fierce opponent, a deadly enemy. There is nothing funny or humorous about his tactics or his intent, and there certainly is nothing to laugh about if you are his intended victim. We do ourselves a serious disservice if we discount his existence, take him lightly, or believe that we are capable of defeating him in our own strength.