Apex Predator

 God does nothing by accident. Everything is planned and purposeful to the minutest of detail, leaving no chance or opportunity for failure. God has never had to scramble to fix an error, nor has He ever had to ask for a mulligan. If, at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again was neither divinely inspired nor something God found Himself thinking.

We can’t put ourselves in God’s shoes because His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. It’s not even a tiny difference. It’s not something that just needs a little tweaking, and then, boom, we can think as God does. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than yours or mine, as are His thoughts. Knowing all this, I often wonder why God would use a specific word in a particular context when any other word would do.

In his first epistle, Peter compares the devil to a roaring lion roaming about seeking whom he may devour. Why not a barking dog? Why not a screeching hyena? Even a howling wolf wouldn’t have been as bad as a lion. Why did it have to be a lion, and what lesson is there for us to learn? 

Most Christians today underestimate the wiliness of the devil until he’s got them pushed into a corner with no way out of their predicament, licking his lips and letting the tension build until he exposes them for all the world to recoil.

The devil revels in shaming and exposing those who claim to be of the household of faith, and in recent years he’s been doing lots of reveling. Some have taken to sweeping the failings of their leaders under the rug, believing they were doing God a service, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Again, that whole thing about His thoughts and ways being higher than ours.

These men believe that, like themselves, God is looking to protect a brand and not for a bride without spots or wrinkles. A chamber pot does not a vessel of honor make, no matter how much one might pretend otherwise.

If you don’t believe me, ask Brian Houston how the whole obfuscation thing worked out. Granted, it wasn’t him; his dad molested a seven-year-old boy, but he’s known about it for thirty years and kept it quiet because he had a ministry and reputation to uphold. This week he was in court answering hard questions about what his dad did, and though this occurred in the ’70s, fifty years later, it has come back to haunt the entire franchise. Yes, I called it a franchise. Franchise, business, scheme, scam, different adjectives with the same foundational definition. Prove me wrong if you can!

If it had been a real church, this thing would have gotten hashed out back in the day, and certain individuals would have been excluded from ministry and ministering to others. They consciously chose to protect the brand, and the tangled web became a noose over time.

The thing about lions is that they stalk their prey. They are patient and cunning and wait for the right time to attack so that their quarry doesn’t stand a chance. The devil lays out snares and waits. There’s no need for him to rush or make an unforced error. It’s not he that wanders off looking for something he thinks is worth risking one’s life for. That’s what it is, essentially. Sin kills, and every time one chooses to wander off the path and cozy up to godlessness, they risk their lives.

This isn’t the double mask and become a pincushion, or you’ll die and kill everyone you’ve ever known kind of risk; this risk is real!

Another thing about lions is that they are the apex predator of any environment they find themselves in. If you’re in the vicinity, you’re on their turf; they are not on yours. It is something you must be ever mindful of.

1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

It’s when you let your guard down that the enemy is most likely to attack. The predatorial instinct kicks in and lets him know when you are most vulnerable.

 Peter admonished us to be vigilant and sober, but there are other things we can do to keep from being ambushed and attacked. Things we glean from watching real lions hunt. The first of these is travel in a pack or a herd. It’s always the animal that falls behind or gets distracted and wanders off that becomes the target. What does this mean for us in real-world terms? It’s pretty self-explanatory, but belonging to a fellowship, having fellowship, and coming together with other like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ will go a long way in keeping you from becoming prey.

The second thing we can glean from the animal world is that the instinct to run is never wrong. If you hear a growl in the brush, you don’t go investigate; you run because there is danger about.

When the Bible tells us to flee even the appearance of evil, it’s not because God doesn’t want you to enjoy yourself or have a good time; it’s because God is trying to keep us from being devoured by the enemy. He is trying to keep you safe!

You’re telling me you went somewhere you weren’t supposed to be, flirted with someone you weren’t supposed to flirt with, then you blame God for getting wrecked? How’s that His fault? He told you to flee the appearance of evil. You didn’t. It’s on you, buckaroo.

If only more believers acknowledged that their enemy is real and that he is not some defanged lion without a mane but an actual threat, it would lessen the carnage we are seeing in the contemporary church. I know, I get it; I saw the sign at Marshall Goods, too; God has not given you a spirit of fear. Being sober and vigilant isn’t being fearful; it’s being wise. 

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.