Satan has a large arsenal of weapons with which he attacks humanity in order to try to bring about its destruction. Which of these weapons, however, is his most powerful and ultimately successful?

1. How about the society around us? There is no doubt that society as a whole is used by Satan to draw us away from God, the church, the Bible and the truth as a whole. Society tends to call the bad good, and the good bad. Society is going to push evils, such as abortion and homosexuality on us at every turn. But society is not Satan's greatest weapon.

2. How about humanism and organic evolutionary theory? These two philosophies, which tend to go hand-in-hand, are very effective in destroying the faith of many people. They are Godless, evil and patently false. It almost amuses me, if it were not so serious, that these theories combined teach that we are nothing but glorified apes, and yet we are the ultimate of all that exists. A built-in oxymoron. I submit, however that these two extraordinarily dangerous dogmas are not Satan's greatest weapon.

3. How about our educational system? Sadly, I am convinced that Satan is making the best use for his purposes that he could of our educational system. That is not a condemnation of the good, solid and often Christian teachers in the public schools. It is a fact, however, that many of the major thrusts of education for a long time now have been anti-God, anti-morality, anti-parental authority and anti-Christian. And the educational system is powerful in Satan's arsenal because it begins to get humans while they are young and most impressionable. Yet, the educational system is not Satan's greatest weapon.

4. How about TV, movies, music and various reading materials? There is no doubt that Satan has very effectively used these mediae to help spread his philosophies, and to win the minds of men and women, boys and girls. Immorality in every form is not only impressed on our minds, but is supported and encouraged. There is a constant bombardment of the message of Satan that almost overwhelms the modern person, and especially the younger ones. Though extremely powerful and dangerous, these are not Satan's greatest weapon.

5. How about alcohol and other drugs? It absolutely brings tears to my eyes when I think of all the lives destroyed, and ultimately souls lost, because of alcohol and drugs. Satan has to rejoice in the absolute stupidity of humans who are overwhelmed by these powerful weapons. The untold amount of evil that is a direct result of alcohol and other drugs (note: alcohol is nothing but a legal drug!) is almost overwhelming. Yet, I still submit that this is not Satan's greatest weapon.

6. How about evil friends and family members? "Do not be deceived, Bad company ruins good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV). Satan can effectively keep us from serving God by the use of those who are our friends. Often, it is our very family members that are used by Satan to guide us into his ways. This is, again, an extremely effective weapon, but it is not Satan's greatest weapon.

7. How about false religious teachers? What a remarkable weapon! Satan is able to use people who are supposed to be speaking in the name of Jesus to lead others away from God. "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). It may be one of Satan's best tools, because it convinces humans that they are right with God, and they unsuspectingly are led directly into Satan's abode, when they think they are going to heaven. But even this is not Satan's greatest weapon.

What then is Satan's greatest weapon? I believe that Satan's greatest weapon against me is my own heart, and that this is true for all humans. The seven influences that are mentioned earlier in the article cannot affect me unless my heart allows it. It is only when Satan can get my heart to be filled with and influenced by these things that he wins. For example, the influences that surround us and teach that there is no God can only hurt us when we accept them in our hearts ("The fool has said in his heart that there is not God,"  Psalm 14:1). Listen to James, "But each person is tempted when he is lured by his own desires [note: his heart-EDK]. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death" (James 1:14-15). I must work diligently to protect my heart from Satan, and I do that by hiding the Word of God in it (Psalm 119:11). I must protect my heart by prayer and appeal to God to help my words and the meditations of my heart be acceptable (Psalm 19:14). I must have a recognition of my weakness and that my heart is not what it ought to be, and ask God to forgive me, as David did in Psalms 51 verses 10 and 17

Satan uses all the things listed above, and many other things, to try to get to our hearts. But he is only successful when he can use our own heart as a weapon against us. Let us keep our hearts with all diligence.