A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.

2 Timothy 2:24-26

What is a snare? Throughout her book, “Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age,” Rosaria Butterfield refers to a snare as “an instrument of execution from which you cannot extricate yourself.”

Maybe the most significant snare we face is the one mentioned in the first part of Proverbs 29:25 – “the fear of man lays a snare.”

How often are we intimidated by the opinion of others? Have you questioned whether or not you are crazy for believing what the Bible has to say about how to live? Being afraid of what other people think is a real snare for many and I must admit I’ve faced the challenge at times.

Thankfully, the solution follows at the end of Proverbs 29:25 – “but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”

Trusting in the Lord means first choosing His truth over the lies of our world in our own lives. Secondly, according to the words of Paul to Timothy, our responsibility is to “gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap (snare).”