When I was young, let’s say ten years old or so, I spent a lot of summer days with my cousins, the Bennetts. Since both my parents worked, I didn’t have anyone to chaperone me when there was no school, and the solution was to let me spend those summer days with the Bennetts. Their mother, Betty Jean Bennett, was my dad’s older sister. She was a stay-at-home mom who had a P.H.D. in babysitting. Of course, the problem with that whole arrangement was the fact that my cousins and I never stayed in the house where she could adequately keep an eye on us. Instead, most of our time was spent out and about exploring the local woods.

A dilapidated old car sat in the woods just above the Bennett house. The car belonged to the patriarch of the Bennett clan, Bill, who had parked it there years earlier when the motor had gone bad. Trust me, he had no plans to fix that car. Its windows were all busted out, the interior was little more than a shell, and the whole thing was well on its way to rusting down completely.

One day, as our crew was patrolling the area, we noticed that bees had built a huge nest inside that car. As best I can recollect, it was a nest of yellow jackets. Then again, it could have been hornets. I do vividly recall that the basketball-sized nest was located just above the driver’s side door. Naturally, kids being kids, we took it as a personal challenge to bring down that nest. It was just the kind of project for which lazy summer days are made.

After studying the nest for a while, we noticed that its one entrance was in the front at the bottom. The bees were constantly flying in and out of that entrance, a setup that made a frontal attack unadvisable. So, we made our way around to the car’s passenger’s side. I can’t remember if we opened the passenger door or if it was already off the hinges, but we somehow snuck our way inside that car and got behind that massive nest. Now there was only one question to be answered: When we started pelting the nest with rocks, would those bees fly out the front or the back to attack? We gambled on the front, gathered our rocks, and cautiously, one kid at a time, one rock at a time, began bombing the nest.

We grew more and more bold with each thrown rock because no matter where the rocks struck the nest, the bees flew out that one hole in the front. They just kept roaring out, stingers locked and loaded, seeking to deal with their attackers. But they couldn’t find us. The air was dark with them just outside that driver’s side window, while all remained clear on the other side of the car where we were. That allowed us to take turns easing inside the car and throwing our rocks. I can just picture us there, laughing like crazed madmen, as one by one we stoned that poor nest into oblivion without even one of us ever getting stung. If only we had channeled such genius toward purposes that were less mischievous and more productive for society. Oh well.

As I think back upon that day from my childhood, I’m reminded that we Christians oftentimes have our own trouble figuring out the source of the attacks that are coming against us. We fly around, all stirred up and righteously indignant, but our holy zeal is misdirected and our efforts ultimately fail. Why? It’s because we have trouble locating our true attacker.

And just who is our true attacker? Satan. The abortionists are carrying out his agenda. The gambling industry is doing his bidding. He convinces the homosexuals that what they are doing is morally acceptable. He energizes the pornographers. He inspires the producers and directors of filthy television shows and Hollywood movies. He is the power behind the thrones of evil politicians and murderous dictators. Yes, he’s the one who is constantly bombing us and thus creating the mess we call this world.

Notice carefully what the Bible teaches in the following passages (all from the N.K.J.V., emphasis mine):

Then Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him (Elymas the sorcerer) and said, “O full of all deceit all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:9-10)

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:10)

“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do…” (John 8:44)

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world… (Revelation 12:9)

You see, Christian, the one who is bombing our nest from behind is Satan and the people he uses to accomplish his work are merely the rocks thrown from his hand. In saying this, I don’t mean to imply that God doesn’t hold these people accountable for their sins. Undoubtedly, He does hold them accountable. I’m simply pointing out that, in a very real sense, these folks don’t even do their own bidding. They think they are free and liberated to do as they please, but in truth they aren’t independent at all. Satan has them deceived because he has their minds blinded. They want to do the desires of his heart rather than the desires of their own hearts.

Please remember this, Christian, whenever you find yourself out there on the front lines of the cultural war. It’s so easy to despise or hate the people who think and act in ungodly ways. But don’t let yourself fall into the trap of failing to see them for who they really are. They are pawns in the hands of an evil lord. They are puppets dancing on the strings of a wicked puppeteer. They are children whose minds have become warped under the tutelage and training of their twisted father. They are the victims of a sinister brainwashing carried out by one who is a master in the art. Again, I’m not alleviating them from their own guilt and accountability. There’s no question that each of them currently stands under the foreboding shadow of God’s impending eternal judgment. I just want you to understand that the true mastermind who is doing all the worldwide nest-bombing we see is Satan.