Don't Get Ensnared

     Several months ago, I was pulling weeds out of a bush in the front yard of my house. I aggressively grabbed a weed to pull it out only to experience a sharp pain in my left thumb. I quickly realized this particular weed had thorns and one of the thorns was lodged in my thumb. Rather than make an attempt to “dig” the thorn out of my thumb, I decided to let my body dissolve the thorn over time. It eventually worked, but I was continually reminded over that period of time that the thorn was still in my thumb. Was that a smart move on my part?  You be the judge, but it made me acutely aware of these thorny weeds in our lot.

     We have a wooded lot and as I walked through the woods, I found these thorny weeds throughout. Sometimes I found the thorny weeds visually, other times they found me by scratching my legs as I passed by. I became so agitated over this, my short-term “mission in life” was to find these weeds and destroy them. I wore some protective gear when I was cutting out and collecting these weeds because it was easy to get scratched if I was not careful. Over time, I began to collect piles of these weeds. Below is a picture of one of those piles. 

     As I was fulfilling my “life mission”, I began to ponder a spiritual lesson from this exercise. I imagined how horrible it would be to get caught in the middle of one of those thorny piles without any protection. It would be very difficult to escape from the pile without inflicting some wounds. As a possible alternative to avoid injury from the thorns I could stay in the pile, be still and accept this as my lot in life.

     Many Christians are in the middle of a pile of thorns, but what makes it worse is that they don’t even know they are ensnared in the thorns. They view their situation as normal, mainly because they fit into the environment that surrounds them. One example of this is the Christian in the workplace. He or she finds themselves in a work environment where success is the driving force and ethics are applied only if it will lead to success. It is easy to justify this because it is “the norm.” Over time this “norm” is subtly applied to other areas of their life and they are not aware they are ensnared in the middle of a pile of thorns.

     The Christian that is caught in the pile of thorns becomes dull in their spiritual thinking. Their walk with Christ often stops, but if they continue to walk, it is superficial and hypocritical. A good description of what happens to the ensnared Christian is found in 1 Timothy 4: 1-2, “…in later times some will fall away from the faith…by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron…”  What happens is that the lies become the norm and the conscience becomes dead. Searing the conscience is like searing nerves around a wound. The nerves are deadened and the pain from the wound is suppressed. The conscience is an internal mechanism that God built into each human being to discern right and wrong. When it is seared, this mechanism is disabled, but not destroyed. It can be revived.

     The Christian can blame their environment, their friends, even themselves for being spiritually dull and they do contribute to this, but there is something even more insidious that contributes to this dullness. This something is a person--Satan himself. In 2 Timothy 2: 26, it speaks of, “…the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”  In the context of 2 Timothy 2, Paul is referring to those who are “in opposition” as the ones being held captive by the devil. Paul is talking about unbelievers who are opposing the truth of the gospel, but in a very real sense Christians can be opposing the truth of the gospel by their own actions and attitudes when they are not walking with Christ. The word for devil includes the idea of being a deceiver and a slanderer which describes perfectly what the devil wants to accomplish with followers of Christ. He wants to deceive (ensnare) them and make them ineffective as a child of God.

     This is not the place that God wants those ensnared by the devil to be. He wants them out of the pile of thorns. Paul tells us, as believers, how to help them out of pile. He explains it in the same 2 Timothy 2 passage. “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition…” (vss. 24-25a). There are two distinct elements the Lord’s bond-servant must display in helping those ensnared. First, they must know what they are talking about. Paul says the bond-servant must be “able to teach.” This is not talking about the gift of teaching, but having an understanding of the scriptures that can give an answer to the one ensnared. This implies that the bond-servant knows why the person is ensnared and can give a biblical response. Second, the bond-servant must have godly character in giving an answer to the one ensnared. The three characteristics that Paul highlights are kindness, patience, and gentleness. These qualities give credibility to the message you are sharing and demonstrate you really care about that person who is ensnared.

     What is the goal in helping those who are ensnared? Paul tells us in the next verses: “…if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil…” (vss. 25b-26a). We want them to escape from the devil and be able to walk with Christ with a clear (unseared) conscience. In order for this to happen, they must respond to the message and love that was communicated to them. As the passage states, first they must repent. Repentance has three distinct concepts. (1) Confession of sins. This means agreeing with God they have done wrong. (2) Turning away from those sins. A commitment is made after confession has been made that they will not return to those sins. (3) Move towards a closer relationship with God. We have restored relationship with God and God wants us to walk with Him and fellowship with Him. This repentance does not come as a result of our convincing talk or loving care; it is a work of God to “grant them repentance.” We are the instruments, as the Lord’s bond-servants, but God does the work in their heart.

     After repentance, the second step is “coming to their senses.” This means that the repentant person can clearly see the world they had been ensnared in. As Jesus said, “…the truth will make you free…” John 8:32. You are now able to see the pile of thorns surrounding you and escape from the hold they have had on you. How liberating that is! This reminds me of the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15. At the lowest point in his rebellion when he longed to eat what the pigs were eating, verse 17 literally says, “…however, having come to himself.” In other words, the prodigal son came to his senses and realized even his father’s hired workers had it better than what he had at that moment. The son’s response to this awakening was to return to his father with a repentant heart and the father received him with open arms. This is what our Heavenly Father wants to do--receive us with open arms.

     This does not mean you will escape from the thorns unharmed. There may be some direct or indirect consequences from being in the pile of thorns, but there is comfort to know that our Heavenly Father will bring healing through the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will give the repentant sinner the wisdom and strength to address those consequences which may include resolving legal issues or restoring broken relationships or finding peace within yourself. As I had mentioned earlier, it took several weeks for the pain to go away from one thorn in my thumb.

     Perhaps you find yourself in the pile of thorns. If so, the first step has been taken. You recognize that you are in the pile. The next steps are to repent and get out of the pile. We need God’s strength and help to do this and we need the help of other followers of Christ to come along side and encourage us. God created us to be relational and we need both divine and human help.

     Perhaps you find yourself seeing someone you really care about in the middle of the thorn pile and they do even know it. Fortunately, Paul has provided instruction for us in the 2 Timothy 2 passage discussed above. One other tool that God has given us that undergirds all of this is prayer. Since we are dealing with spiritual forces, that is, the devil ensnaring that person we care about, we need prayer to combat these forces. In Ephesians 6, Paul describes the spiritual battle taking place and the need for the full armor of God. Undergirding this armor is prayer (verse18). Don’t underestimate the necessity and power of prayer. Perhaps this may be the only tool you can use because that person you care about is not ready to hear what you have to say.

     I am winding down on my “life mission” with my thorn weeds, but I realize it will never be completely over. Over time those thorn bushes are going to return and I will have to be on the alert to remove them before they grow too much and create bigger problems. Also, in our spiritual life, ensnarement may not be a “one and done.” We have to stay on the alert and recognize the thorns around us to avoid that subtle entrapment they can create. Fortunately, we have a Heavenly Father to make us alert as we continue our walk with Him. May you do so.

- David P. Staggers                                                                                               3/21/21