One of Aesop’s fables begins this way: ‘The North Wind and the Sun had a quarrel about which of them was the stronger. While they were disputing with much heat and bluster, a Traveler passed along the road wrapped in a cloak. “Let us agree,” said the Sun, “that he is the stronger who can strip that Traveler of his cloak.” “Very well,” growled the North Wind, and at once sent a cold, howling blast against the Traveler.’

You can already guess who’s going to win this one. And also the moral to the story, that a warm gentle smile (sun) will be more persuasive more than a forceful argument (wind). But it was a stitch-up. The sun cheated, by cleverly proposing a test that would work in his favour. The wind, if it had thought twice, could have sent a gust against an apple tree, knocking off the fruit, which would then cause the traveller to take off his cloak to collect and wrap them in.

Sometimes I wonder if our spiritual defeats are not because we lack power, but because bluster on in our own pride. The serpent is subtle and frames his tests with bias, and we are fools to enter into a battle of wits. Our wisest course is to hold to the Word. It might be childish to the world, and cowardly to the devil, but it’s the safest way to keep the cloak on our back and thieves from our door.