Jump Start # 846

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

I play music in my office as I work. I have a variety of songs depending upon what I am doing. There is an old song that has resurfaced recently and I play a lot. The song is “Little Red Riding Hood.” I first heard that song in the late ’60’s by the Royal Guardsmen, the group that gave us all those songs about Snoopy and the Red Baron. I had forgotten about that song until it was played recently in the background of a car commercial. Laura Gibson is the singer and she does a great job. The song portrays the big bad wolf singing to little red riding hood. The wolf is trying to con little Red. There are a couple of intriguing lines in the song.

• The wolf tells red riding hood that he is going to keep his sheep suit on until he can be trusted walking with alone with her.
• The wolf tells Red, “even bad wolves can be good.”

Those are disturbing lines. They hide the truth that the wolf is a wolf. Those are the words of the REAL Wolf—Satan. He wants us to trust him. He wants us to think that even he can be good. No way! He’s bad, through and through. He lies. He breaks the rules. He twists. He cheats. He misquotes. He adds words. He deceives. He celebrates when people turn their backs on God.

Peter tells us that Satan is a roaring lion. Jesus said the false prophets are wolves in sheep clothing. Satan is behind false prophets. Lions and wolves—both are very dangerous and cannot be trusted. You wouldn’t stick your hand through the bars of the lion’s cage at the zoo. No way!

The song says, “Even bad wolves can be good.” No, they can’t. A wolf is a wolf. The wolf represents wrong. There is no way that wrong can be right. Dress it up real nice, but a bow on top of it, shine it, sprinkle some glitter all around it, and what do you have? A wolf. Wrong is still wrong. Bad wolves cannot be good. Wolves are not people. People can change. People have a heart. People can be forgiven. Not wolves.

The Holy Spirit didn’t call Satan a bad person. He is called a roaring lion. He appears as a sheep, but he is still a wolf. He looks like sheep, but he doesn’t smell like sheep. He looks like sheep, but he doesn’t walk like sheep. He looks like sheep, but he doesn’t graze in the meadows, like sheep. He looks like sheep, but he doesn’t act like sheep. He is a wolf. He runs in a pack with other wolves. He is dangerous, mean, and aggressive. The sweet talking wolf tries to lure you to trust him. Don’t. He is a wolf. The sweet talking wolf wants you to walk alone with him. Don’t. He wants you to think that he is good. He is not. He wants you to think that he has changed. He hasn’t. He wants to destroy you.

I wonder if we get that spiritually? Maybe we flirt with the world, just a little. Maybe we allow greed and selfishness to drive our hearts, just a bit. Maybe we are reading books that we shouldn’t…watching movies that we shouldn’t…dressing a bit risqué when we ought to be modest…talking a little trashy and immoral. Could it be that we don’t recognize the danger? Could it be that we’ve taken a walk alone with a wolf? Could it be that we are starting to believe that “even bad wolves can be good?”

New and radical ideas taught by popular religious writers are too often accepted as incredible when we ought to see them as the language of wolves. Passages twisted and taken out of context can open our eyes to new thoughts and new ways, but that is an old, old trick of the wolf. Eve fell for it long ago and it’s still working today.

Paul’s words to the Roman Christians reminded them that God’s people are not to be conformed to the world. We are going to be different. We are going a different direction. We are after different things. Our language, attitudes, dress, motives and heart are different. They are of the world and we are of Christ. Don’t try to fit in, you don’t. We are swimming upstream in a downstream world.

The only persons who think “bad wolves can be good” are those who are already hanging around wolves. Their eyes are blinded. They don’t want to hear the truth. Sometimes teenagers will say similar things to their parents. They may be hanging out or dating some questionable people. The red flag goes up for the parents. The teenager doesn’t see what mom sees. He tries to defend his friends. He says, “You don’t know him like I do.” Maybe. Or, maybe he’s been singing, “even bad wolves can be good.”

Satan is not good. There is no hope for him. He’s heading to Hell to be tortured by God forever. There is no hope nor salvation for him. He’s toast. He’s a goner. That bad wolf can’t be good. So beware, as Jesus says. The wolf often looks like sheep. Things that may look good, may not be good. Investigate. Study. Think. Check things out. Be careful. Guard your faith. Protect yourself spiritually. Have your spiritual alarms set and realize that we are traveling through lion country. The enemy is watching you. Be alert. It’s time to have both hands on the wheel and our eyes wide open. It’s the careless, the sleepy, the indifferent, the slow, and the lazy that become lunch for the lion. He’s hungry. He’s looking for a meal. Make sure it’s not you!

Roger