4 So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander. 15 Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.

This is a repetition of Paul has already said - it's better to marry than to burn, and it's

better to do something worthwhile and productive. I don't think I need to go into detail, but there are a couple of interesting thoughts I have.

One of the consequences of having too much time on you hands, and not having a purpose, is that it gives Satan an opportunity for slander.

What is slander? It's lying about someone. In this context, it could be a widow who lies about someone else, or someone lying about the widow. Satan loves to whisper in our ears - sometimes directly, and sometimes through others. But whatever he is saying is probably false, deceptive, or misleading. Remember that his purpose is to destroy you, and he will go to any ends and use any means necessary.

People talk. I've seen the articles about how little others actually notice you, when we are so careful in how we present ourselves. The fact is that most people don't actually pay much attention you or me. And yet, we still manage to find things to say about others!

But Paul isn't talking about us slandering one another. The slanderer here is Satan himself. He loves to lie, and he's very good at it! He's especially good at taking something that is true, on the surface, and stuffing it full of what is untrue. It's what he did in the Garden, and with Jesus in the wilderness, and every day in between and since.

It's what the devil always does. And he's very good at it. He's a wolf in sheep's clothing. Peter says "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). He loves nothing more than to chew you up and spit you out!