Satan chose his target carefully. Eve was the youngest intelligent creature in the universe. Taking advantage of her inexperience, he set out to trick and seduce her. By hiding behind a serpent, a very cautious creature, Satan shrewdly concealed his own bold and ambitious aims. (Genesis 3:1) Consider, too, what he accomplished by making the serpent appear to speak.

Satans choice of words also reveals much. He sowed doubts in Eves mind, implying that God was holding back something good from her and needlessly restricting her freedom. The success of Satans scheme depended on the chance that Eves self-interest would outweigh her love for the God who had given her everything she had. (Genesis 3:4, 5) Tragically, Satans gambit worked; neither Eve nor Adam had cultivated in their own hearts the kind of love and appreciation for God that they should have. Does not Satan promote the same kind of self-interest and rationalizing today?

What, though, about Satans motive? What was he after? In Eden, he attempted to hide both his identity and his motive. But, in time, he revealed himself. When he tempted Jesus, he surely knew that disguises were of no use. So he directly urged Jesus: Fall down and do an act of worship to me. (Matthew4:9) Evidently, Satan has long been driven by jealousy over the worship that goes to God. He will go to any length to divert or pervert such worship. He loves to destroy integrity to God.

Clearly, the Bible reveals that Satan is a deadly strategist in seeking his aims. Happily, we need not be fooled as Eve was, ''for we are not ignorant of his designs.''2 Corinthians 2:11.