Police in Oldham, England were recently notified of a tiger that was on the loose in a neighborhood of their city. The citizen who placed the call for help saw this ferocious beast resting in a garden and assumed it had escaped from a zoom.
What the police found was a large stuffed tiger. Before taking it into custody, they took a photo and placed a caption above. “What do you think about the Oldham police?” the tiger was asked. “They’re grrrrrrreat!”, “Tony” replied”. The less than dangerous tiger is waiting to be claimed at the police station.
“Paper tiger” came to my mind when I read this story. That phrase is from an ancient Chinese word which refers to someone who appears to be dangerous and threatening, but when confronted will quickly wilt. The one who appeared to be powerful really isn’t at all.
Sometimes that’s a good assessment of a person, and sometimes it’s not. Mao Zedong, former leader of China, said in 1946 that the atom bomb in the arsenal of the United States was a paper tiger. In a 1957 interview Mao referred to Adolf Hitler as a paper tiger. Most of us would strongly disagree with his use of this metaphor in both cases.
When I think of “paper tiger”, I think of Satan. You may be surprised by that, but let me defend my view, based on Scripture.
Jesus stated that Satan has considerable power: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:44). A classic example of this is found in one of Jesus’ own apostles, Judas. The process was undoubtedly gradual, but here was the culmination of Satan’s work: “… the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him” (John 13:2). Later in that chapter we read that “Satan entered” Judas (John 13:26), and that’s when the betrayer left to carry out his sinister plan.
Should we be concerned about the devil? Paul says, Yes: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). Through his deceptive ways Satan has captured many.
Those who turn to Christ, however, have an advantage. 1 John 4:4 makes this clear: “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” James also gives this comforting assurance: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7,8).
This devil tiger turns into a harmless paper tiger as along as we find our refuge in Jesus Christ!
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2022, Timothy D. Hall