The Enemy's Sole Purpose

“The Enemy’s Sole Purpose”

By Zach Wood

John 10:10 NLT

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

Everything in life has a purpose in some way or another.  All products you buy in a store have a purpose.  Some products have multi-purposes and can do many things.  When you pay to have a service rendered, whether it’s a repair or some special service you’ve subscribed to, it has a purpose.  Eating places have a purpose.  Gas stations have a purpose.  The list could go on and on. 

Every single thing we see each and every day has a purpose.  Sometimes, the purpose is good.  Other times, the purpose can be bad.  Some things have multiple bad purposes to them.  But in general, they are just bad.  So, some things are good and some things are bad.  We have to be wise to know what to watch out for, right?  We all have had bad experiences and we try to tell others when we have those so they don’t have the same experience. 

Experiences are just a part of life and we learn what to avoid and what is good for us.  If something has a bad purpose and we know it, we shouldn’t even go near it, whatever it may be.  If the purpose is to harm us or lead us astray in some way, better to just stay away completely.  However, the enemy knows just how to sugar-coat things and disguise things to make them look good initially, but in the end, they hurt us.  Sometimes, we get hurt really bad.

In this passage, Jesus is very clear that Satan’s purpose is solely to take our joy away.  His purpose is nothing good, ever.  His purpose is to do anything he can to lead us astray and turn us away from God as much as possible.  No matter how good Satan makes something look at first, there is absolutely no purpose he has except to hurt us and draw us away from God.  Period!  His purpose is never positive.  He wants to steal, kill and destroy in any way he can. 

Jesus has a purpose and it is to give us the most wonderful life that we could ever possibly imagine.  100% opposite anything Satan can offer us.  Jesus came to give us the fullest and most rewarding life we could have.  We can know that Jesus has a purpose to love us and nurture us and that He will never lead us astray.  His purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life.  When we follow Him, the joy never ends and He continues to show us the purpose He has for our lives. 

Every time we are tempted to give in to Satan and his ways, we must remember that the purpose is always to hurt us, lead us astray and to steal every bit of joy that God wants for us.  We must be strong in God and turn away from the lures of Satan.  At first, the lures always seem initially good and rewarding in some way, but they all have the same purpose.  To kill, steal and destroy.  Let us follow the ways of Jesus and His sole purpose to give us true life!