When is a clue a distraction? The answer - when it causes you to think in a way that won't lead you to the solution. That is what I discovered when I recently tried to solve a spatial puzzle that I bought for my father last Christmas. The objective is to dump out the contents of a box and see if you can get all of the logs back inside. There are two levels of logs in the box. The first can be seen through a plastic cover. Then there is a sheet of paper covering the bottom pile. That is where the real secret is.
The top layer is just a distraction. You can easily see how these are done. But these logs are all oriented in the same direction, which causes you to unconsciously think that the next layer must be setup the same way.
But that's the trick. The next layer has some logs oriented length ways. Other smaller logs are positioned sideways to make everything fit in the box. But until you start thinking outside of what you have already seen in the box, you won't discover the solution.
The deception of sin and the lies of the devil can be a lot like the top layer of the log puzzle. It seems right, but it really makes it harder to find the real answer.
Romans 7:11 (NIV)
For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.
Sin makes it difficult to see the truth. It puts us off balance and causes us to ignore the life that God offers. Notice that the top layer does its job without being detected. Sin is just as sneaky. It doesn't come and announce itself as sin. No, the lies of the enemy are effective because they are hard to detect. Sin may seem quite harmless. But in the end, sin leads to death.
