Protecting Your Child From The Devil

As I sat in my room this morning during my quiet time, I noticed out the window a cat strolling casually across the yard.

Suddenly a bird swooped down, attacking the cat.

For a split-second, I was incredulous.  A bird?  Attacking a cat?

But I quickly realized that this bird was not attacking a cat because she thought she was bigger and badder than the cat.  She was a mama bird, and she had baby birds nearby.  Even though the cat didn’t seem to be seeking his breakfast, he was still close enough to the location of the baby birds to cause their mama plenty of concern.

Although a bird is no match for a cat, she was willing to put her life on the line for the protection of her babies.  She swooped down over and over until she had driven the cat far away from her home.  Then she flew high into a tree and waited until the cat was completely out of sight before she flew back to her nest.  She didn’t want to chance having the cat know where her babies were located.

Mamas, there is another member of the feline family just waiting for his chance to destroy your children.  He is the devil, and like a lion, he walks about seeking whom he may devour.

What are you going to do to protect those children of yours?

You need to recognize the various ways that he will try to attack them and eliminate his opportunity to do so.

I’ll give a few examples, but you as a parent need to be diligent to think through the circumstances of your own child’s life and pinpoint all of the areas that need to be protected.

•     Friends

God let us know for a reason that “evil communications corrupt good manners”.  The people your child associates with on a regular basis are one of the biggest influences he has.  Do you know who your child’s friends are?  Do you know what they believe and what they talk about to your children?  If you are not aware of these things, you are leaving your child in a very vulnerable position.  The devil has the opportunity to use those friends to influence his thinking in ways that could completely undermine everything you are trying to teach him at home.

•     Media

One of the most powerful influences on the mind of your child is the media that filters through his eyes and ears.  The tv shows, movies, books, video games, and music that he is exposed to are not a neutral force.  They are either drawing him closer to God or driving him away.  Examine closely what goes into your child’s mind, and do everything you can to protect him from anything that contradicts God’s Word.  Even if you become the world’s most “uncool” mom, saying no to these things is worth every minute of your unpopularity.  I’d rather be uncool than to lose my child’s soul to the devil.

•     Their own sin nature

We are all born with a burning desire to sin, and even after salvation that sin nature still rears its ugly head, tempting us when we least expect it.  You may be doing all you know to do to protect your child from evil influences, but his greatest and most subtle enemy lies within himself.  Just as those baby birds will one day leave the nest and be responsible for protecting themselves, your children will gradually become more and more independent.  You won’t always be right beside them, swooping down and chasing away the devil when he comes too close.  Give them the tools to protect themselves when they’re on their own!  Teach them the Word of God.  Engrain it into their minds and hearts.  Instruct them about the armor of God which they possess if they are a child of God and teach them how to use it!  Pray for your children every day.  Pray for their protection from temptation and that God would help them to remember the things you have taught them about resisting the devil.

That mama bird would have been devastated had the cat gained access to her babies and taken the opportunity to injure or kill any of them.  Can you imagine the grief that you will feel if your child falls prey to the devil?

To the mother bird, it was worth risking her very life for her children to be protected.  What will you risk?  How hard will you work?  How unpopular are you willing to be?  

It’s worth it all.