No Solicitation

It’s been quiet around here this last 9 weeks or so. Specifically, on our front porch.

I’m one of those people who loves natural light and open windows, and I often open my front door and just use the glass storm door: it’s a giant window. The problem with this is that I can’t hide from solicitors and strangers. If they ring the bell, I kind of have to answer.

With the shelter in place for so many weeks, there have been NO solicitors at my door. And I’ve loved every minute of open door freedom.

As things have begun to open back up here in Texas, I’ve noticed an uptick in door-to-door business. It got me thinking of a post Covid-19 no soliciting sign:

NO SOLICITING

If you aren’t wearing a mask, we’re not interested.

If you are wearing a mask, still not interested.

I chuckled at my own cleverness.

But I also got to thinking about spiritual solicitation. We need to take a stronger approach against Satan's schemes, and shut the front door. Scripture teaches that the devil is prowling around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). And we know that he doesn’t just come knocking on the door of your heart in all of his rage and evil strength: he wears a mask.

Satan doesn’t just come knocking on the door of your heart in all of his rage and evil strength: he wears a mask.

In Genesis we see him approach Eve in the garden as a serpent, with quiet, twisted questions meant to deceive and question truth (Genesis 3).

When he found Jesus in the wilderness, he didn’t shout and throw punches. He used intellect, God’s Words (twisted), and a mask of half-truth (Matthew 4).

The Bible also talks about how we as believers must guard our hearts and minds with truth in order to not give the devil a foothold. That’s all it takes sometimes. You’ve seen the dangerous animal shows on TV – let the lion get just one paw on the vulnerable spot of his prey, and defeat is inevitable (Ephesians 4:27).

I asked myself these types of questions: Have I allowed this time at home to make me feel immune to temptation? Have I overlooked bad habits that sneak in because there’s nowhere better to be, or nothing better to do? What conversations have I had that could have used tighter lips or a more sensitive ear? Am I loving my husband intentionally with the extra time together, or sucking more out of him because he’s more available? Do my kids see me loving Jesus in the way I speak to and interact with them, or have I let social media own my heart and attention throughout the day?

Eve didn’t do a great job guarding her porch. That serpent was never questioned or rebuked. Even her momentary correction of the serpent’s quotation of the Lord was quickly forsaken for an appetizing fruit and projected outcome (as false as it was).

Thankfully, we have Jesus’ example of standing firm in temptation: not entertaining or experimenting with it, but rather rebuking the lies and the liar. Stifling the argument and shutting the front door.

So, whether you enjoy impromptu conversation with strangers at your front door, or hide when you see them approach, ask the Lord to show you where you’ve been entertaining worldly desires in your spiritual life. Find out where you’ve let your guard down and made room for half-truths and emotional comforts contrary to God’s word, and kick them out. Confess your sin, and start new according to the His mercy and grace.

An open window engages beauty, but we must be proactive to protect that porch, and enforce a no-soliciting policy at the door of our heart and mind.

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