Trap Crops
The unassuming Evening Primrose has a place in the garden, if only as a trap crop. The small blooms are somewhat pretty, and the flowers have a lovely, mild taste. The oils from the seeds are medicinal and have been used for decades in folk medicine.
Here is the bigger claim to fame, though. Japanese beetles are attracted to its leaves, which they find even tastier than our roses and peach trees.
Satan has a few trap crops in his garden of lies. He lures the unsuspecting into a dark place by some very enticing schemes.
Here’s one: “Caring.” One of the flashiest of virtue signals in Satan’s arsenal of spiritual weapons is the falsehood known as “caring more” — allegedly than you, or Christians in general. Professing “compassion” for those in flagrant and willful sin is supposed to be alluring enough to shame us into smiling upon evil, in the guise of “caring” about those caught up in evil practices.
The lie is then compounded by another whopper: “Christians are just self-righteous and are happy in their belief that others who are different are lost.” Non-believers just don’t get it; we DO care enough to tell the truth so our loved ones are NOT lost eternally. Their “caring” facade is revealed to be false.
Another effective trap is “Fun.” Anything in that category has to be good, right? Wrong. While Solomon did tell us to enjoy life, he reminded us that we will answer to the Creator (Ecclesiastes 11:9).
Meanwhile, Satan and his henchmen shout, “You do you!” And, “Whatever floats your boat.” Sure, Satan wants us to “find ourselves,” because in this search, we are not generally searching for God or His will.
Then there is the age-old favorite — the pursuit of money. Money isn’t a bad thing. We all wish, many times rightly so, that we had more of it (Ecclesiastes 10:19). But all too often the trap is set; the LOVE OF money, which is the “root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). To respect the way economies work and to trade our hours and hard work for money is commendable, up to a point. However, too many are snared by the trap of pursuing riches to the detriment of all else.
Notice, if you will, that none of the above “trap crops” are bad in and of themselves. Those Japanese beetles would probably get nice and fat and healthy chowing down on my Evening Primroses. But morning comes and they’re still groggy from the cool of the night air, and I come along with a jar full of sudsy water, flicking the shiny irridescent little monsters into the foam, where they cannot escape. I put the jar lid on, give it a few shakes, and the destructive bugs are dead, never to devour another rosebud again.
When we are lured in by the devil’s traps, we don’t stay in the safety of a productive, pleasant life. The fake compassion convinces us that all sin is OK, and we leave God. The fun and frivolity that was so harmless at first takes over our lives and we neglect what’s important. The money that we deemed so important has made us bitter to the ones we love when our financial hopes are not met.
My garden is not safe for the destructive insects. I’ll lure them in and then happily dispatch them. Satan will do that to us as well if we take the bait.
"Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things" (Ecclesiastes 11:9-10, NASB).
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