wise as serpents 101

"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves,
so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." 
These are the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 10:16. He exhorts his followers to be both innocent of wickedness and wise about wickedness. If you desire to follow Christ's instruction in this verse, you may wonder how to become educated on the subject. Well, here are some online resources to do just that!

I have pulled out a quote from each one, just to whet your appetite for the practical teaching they offer. In fact, there are such abundant resources, that one really has no excuse to be ignorant of the human means our enemy uses to devour people. If you are learned in these tactics, you will have ample opportunity to minister to many hurting people, bandaging wounds with the balm of Christ.  If you are unlearned, you will instead heap salt in those wounds. 

In case you're wondering why learning about narcissism assists us in this study, it is because narcissistic people are abusive people, whether overtly or covertly, though not all abusers are narcissists.

​Biblical Perspectives on Narcissism
"The primary way to discern if your narcissist is a true Christian is whether they show any genuine “fruit”.  Fruit is a demonstration of whether there has been an actual regeneration of the heart which comes from true faith in Jesus."

Grace For My Heart
"So, yes, we have compassion for the pain the narcissist has suffered, but that does not excuse his/her cruelty. Don’t let your compassion compromise your boundaries!"

Light For Dark Times
"Every true Christian is hated by the world. Darkness hates the light of Christ that is present in us. But only when we realize what these attacks are, what motivates them, what their source is, do we become wise as serpents in regard to the serpent’s methods and tactics. This is really another test of whether we truly know Christ or not. People who remain willfully blind to the existence and strategies of evil, who refuse to recognize it especially as it shows up in the church….well, such people must not have assurance that they know the Lord at all."