Fishers of Men-Part III What Kind of Fish Are You?

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God;" for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. James 1:13-14 (NKJV)

In Part I & 2 of this devotional series, we looked at how Satan, the master-fisherman, fishes for men attempting to get them to bite on his bait of temptation.  We began to take a look at the various types of bait that he will use, and how he wraps them up to be enticing to us.  The variety of bait is determined by what type of fish he is attempting to hook up, and we at various times of our Christian walk can be like 3-different types of fish.  The first two types of fish we looked at as an example were: 

1.    Catfish
2.    Trout

In Part III of this series titled, "Fishers of Men" we are going to look at our third example of fish with which we can draw a parallel to when it comes to our Christian walk, and the temptations that we will face.  We are no longer biting on the stink-bait that the Catfish bites on, nor are we falling for the flashy temptations of what the world has to offer--those things that would entice a trout.  We are walking pretty solid with the Lord, and we are seeking to know Him in a more personal way.  So again, we have transformed and we are no longer a trout, but we have become a "Bass."

Example #3 The Bass

The Bass is probably the smartest fish out there in the lake, and as a result, they are the hardest to catch of the 3-fish. The bass seems to have built-in discernment and knowledge of what is good, or what is bad--just like a Christian does with the Holy Spirit.  It's almost like they can see right through the bait and see the hook underneath.  These fish are very smart when they eat.  Fact is, you really have to disguise the hook well or you won't get one.  They cruise right by the things that would tempt the other fish to bite--but not them.

The same thing could be said about us in our Christian walk, "Oh yeah, I got it going on..." some might say of how well they are doing with regards to acting on temptation from the enemy.   Our walk is good, and we feel good about ourselves.  But just like the Bass, we will eventually fall for the bait.  Maybe it is disguised so good that we didn't even notice it was sin-bait.  Examples:

*    Maybe we didn't share the gospel when God prompted us to with someone in our life
*    Maybe we didn't mention anything to the taxman about that money we made on the side
*    Maybe we didn't realize that denying our spouses needs for attention was directly against God's will, and therefore it is sin.

And just like that, without realizing what we have done, we bite down! 

Another characteristic about Bass is that they can't seem to help themselves in one area--biting on bait that looks like it is getting away.

That's right!  They might not be hungry at all--but seeing something so appealing passing them by and possibly getting away is almost too much to resist. The Bass fisherman baits his hook with something that looks authentic, and good like an insect.  He tosses his bait out into the water, and then he slowly reels it in-flicking his wrist every so often to cause the bait to make an erratic, almost nervous movement in the water.  So even though the Bass might not be hungry or even looking for something to eat, just watching the opportunity to bite diminishes causes it to make an erratic act of its own, and it bites down. 

So we as Christians could be doing very well when it comes to identifying temptation from the enemy in our life.

*    We aren't looking twice at those scantly dressed people at the gym
*    We aren't taking the illegal drugs, or drinking alcohol anymore
*    We're not getting mad at the person who cut us off on the highway
*    We're not watching pornography on the Internet 
*    We're not gossiping about our co-workers or family members

But we end up falling for that tempting bait just like the Bass when something appears to be getting away.  Let me give you an example.

How about that time when you got into an argument with your spouse, or someone at work, or even a family member--and they said something that made you mad--And they seemed to be getting the last word in, and suddenly, you respond by saying something angry, offensive, and divisive&you might say something back like, "Since were on the subject, let me tell you..."

You just bit on that Bass bait.  You couldn't let that comment or action go by--you just had to say something back. 

You know a Bass fisherman is the king of the lake.  This guy is the most skilled, and his mission is to catch and land the hardest smartest fish.  He will get into his glittery expensive boat, and crank up his 300HP engine and speed across the lake to go directly where he "Knows" the smart fish are at.  And that is the way the devil and his emissaries are with us.  He sends the best fishermen he has after those who are walking with God.  They jump in their boat and race across the lake of life to your local spot.  

Hey Christian, Even when we are walking with God strongly, we have to be very careful, because even Bass can be caught by temptation.  In our next devotional we will look at how we can keep from being caught by the enemies bait.

STUDY QUESTION: According to James 1:13-14, how are each one of us tempted by the enemy?

PERSONAL INVENTORY: Can you relate to being caught on the types of bait that will catch the Bass?

APPLICATION:  Look to the Lord for every decision that you make-thinking about how your decision will affect you and others in your life.