Satan is not one of my favorite subjects to talk about. In fact I prefer not to think of him at all. Unfortunately, his cunning lies weave in and out of our lives. This past week I had the opportunity to speak about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil with group of young people. As expected, the students were quick to recognize Adam and Eve's mistake in listening to the serpent's lies. After some discussion of the effects of this encounter, I asked them, "Has the serpent bothered you at all today?"
I heard numerous "What?" and "No."
"Are you sure?" I asked. "How many of you have been tempted to do something you knew was wrong?" One by one hands began to rise and they shared their experiences. We then preceded to have a little fun with this. As they shared their experiences, I pretended to be the serpent whispering the lies in an attempt to justify bad decisions. Of course my lies were over exaggerated, obvious, and dripping with humor. We all laughed as I told them they deserved to stay mad, not share, or demand all the attention. After we had a good laugh, we talked about how all of us have to fight temptation every day. We may not be having an actual discussion with a talking serpent, but unfortunately his lies are still confusing us today.
So what is one of the best ways to fight the serpent? Pick up your rosary and ask two people who never listened to his lies-Jesus and Mary. As you pray, let each bead guide you back to the garden, where God is waiting with open arms.
-Susan
