A Skunk in the Works

There is a skunk in the works.

I mean that literally. We have a skunk that has decided our back yard provides a handy path for it to travel from its den to our back-fence neighbor’s yard. Karen discovered this not long ago when she stood on our back patio one evening. As she looked around at our yard, suddenly a large (she emphasizes large) skunk came sauntering around the corner of the house, just a few feet from her. She stepped quickly into the house, then watched the critter (also known as a polecat) calmly make its way across the yard. The next day, we checked the fence line, and found the places where it had dug underneath the fence.

This began a series of efforts to keep the skunk out of our yard: spreading so-called skunk repellant at the entry points, blocking the holes with hard and heavy objects, and driving tent stakes along the fence line. But after all these efforts, the skunk just keeps digging new holes and getting through. There’s still a skunk in the works.

And, because skunks are famous for their ability to spray a horrible stench, the idiom, “skunk in the works,” refers to something that messes up a situation that is otherwise good. But, as I pondered the situation with our cute, but persistent, furry critter, it occurred to me that the term, “skunk in the works,” also has a deeper meaning.

When we look around us at the world, both the natural creation given to us by God, who proclaimed it “very good” (Genesis 1:31), and mankind itself, created in God’s own image (Genesis 1:26-27), we have to admit that things are not as good as they once were, or should be. There is a skunk in the works. Or rather, two skunks, both which begin with the same letter as skunk.

The first skunk is sin. It’s almost beyond comprehension how badly sin has infected and distorted the world ever since the first act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden. The effects on mankind have been devastating, in the way our attitudes, desires, words, and actions have brought so much misery to ourselves, to other people, and to the natural world. Crime, wars, lying, stealing, racial and tribal animosities, adultery, and sexual perversions have brought sorrow, division, and death on a massive scale. It had become so bad in the past that God once sent a great flood to wipe the earth clean: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord  regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart” (Genesis 6:5-6). The way things have gotten these days in this country, and around the world, the fact that God hasn’t yet acted similarly is amazing! It must be as Peter explained, that the Lord “is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

We have to remember that sin is not just bad things we do or think, but is an innate part of us. We are tainted by sin from the moment of our conception; as David wrote in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” It’s like a birth defect that stays with us our entire lives; in fact, birth defects, sickness, injuries, and death are all consequences of sin. Not every sickness or injury is from us committing a sin, but all are part of the curse which God pronounced on us and all his creation as a result of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin and disobedience (Genesis 3:14-17). But note that we can’t just blame our first parents for the consequences of sin; The Apostle Paul explained in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

Sin has such a natural hold on us that Paul says we are slaves to sin. Only through faith in Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in us can we be freed from that bondage to be free indeed. And for those who are in Christ but are troubled by the hold that sin still seems to have on them, we are comforted by the Prophet Joel: “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster” (Joel 2:13). Sin need not control us; even though the stink of sin is all around us, we need not fear this skunk, for in Christ, all our sins are removed from us, as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12) . . . which is a lot better than we’re doing with our furry friend so far!

The second skunk is Satan. I know it was a serpent that tempted Eve in the Garden, but it could easily have been a skunk, for the devil has certainly played a huge role as a “skunk in the works” to mess up our lives. Not only did he lead that first couple into the sin that brought them hardship and death, he also continues to plague us. As 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” He crafts temptations in ways that make sin appealing and not so terrible. He knows each of our weaknesses, and seeks to exploit them to separate us from God. His desire is to sear our consciences, alienate us from Christ, and cause us to despair by accusing us of the very things he led us to do.

What should we do about this evil, spiritual being, whose name literally means accuser or adversary?

1. First we recognize that such a being exists, and that he is powerful and very skilled in deception.
2. Second, we avoid having too much fascination in him; rather, our focus should be on Christ our Redeemer, and not on our enemy. The Christian writer C.S. Lewis wrote in the  preface to his 1942 book, The Screwtape Letters, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”
3. The devil does not look like the red-suited, pitch-fork-carrying, horned goat-like monster so often depicted in comics. The Bible tells us that he “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). How often do the temptations of the world appear so deceptively attractive to us?
4. Satan is a liar, and “the father of lies” (John 8:44). As the saying goes, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Satan’s lies may sound good, but they lead only to destruction.
5. Through faith in Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can resist Satan and his lies. James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
6. Last, but not least, Christ defeated Satan. Christ beat his temptations in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), he defeated him when Peter suggested Jesus avoid the cross (Mark 8:33), and he finally overcame Satan in the crucifixion and resurrection. You might say Christ “skunked” the devil. Christ has been exalted and glorified, and will be forever, while Satan and his demons will burn in the lake of fire for all eternity (Revelation 20:10). Because you are in Christ, you share in his victory, and need not fear the evil one.

Yes, when we consider life in this fallen world, we recognize that there are “skunks in the works.” But fortunately, life’s skunks of sin and Satan have been overcome through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. As Luther wrote in his Small Catechism, Jesus has “saved us at great cost . . . from sin, death, and the power of the devil.”

Now, if only Karen and I can overcome our polecat, we’ll be just fine!

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Job 1:6-12; Matthew 4:1-11; Romans 5; 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 20.

P.S. The phrase, “skunk in the works,” is not to be confused with Lockheed-Martin’s secretive, advanced airplane development operations known as “the Skunk Works,” in Palmdale, California.