Who's the Real Enemy?

This week's Once Upon A Time gave us a glimpse into Rumpelstiltskin's past.  We find him to be the father of a young boy living in fear of the Duke who rules the land.  Once children reach a certain age, the Duke collects them to give their lives in the war he's waging.  Rumpelstiltskin tries to save his son by running and winds up meeting an old beggar who tells him how to gain control of the situation: he must steal the Duke's magic dagger and kill "the Dark One".  Of course, as we've already learned, "all magic comes at a price", and doing this turns Rumpelstiltskin into the power hungry trickster we're all familiar with.

Meanwhile, back in Storybrooke, Emma is dealing with the death of Graham.  Mr. Gold informs her that she automatically becomes Sheriff after two weeks.  Madame Mayor, Regina, attempts to thwart this, but Mr. Gold steps in, offering his assistance to Emma.  Despite Henry's warnings, Emma accepts Mr. Gold's help until she realizes that he'll play dirty to get things to go her way.

For me, this episode solidified the idea that we don't really know who the real enemy is in this story.  While Regina (aka the Evil Queen) is obviously bent on doing whatever she needs to make herself happy, Mr. Gold is all about manipulation and control as well.  I'm beginning to wonder if even the Evil Queen is simply a pawn in Rumpelstiltskin's evil plans.

In real life, we have the same issue: identifying the true enemy.  There are people who are totally focused on themselves and their own happiness who hurt others in their attempt to achieve it.  The hurt they cause is real and shouldn't be ignored, but they aren't the true enemy.  The only one bent on your destruction, the one seeking to manipulate and control you, is Satan.  He is the true enemy in this story.  Peter describes him as a roaring lion "seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8 ESV).  And Paul instructs us to put on the armor of God because our battle is not with flesh and blood, but with the "spiritual forces of evil" (Eph 6:12 ESV).  You can't battle your enemy if you have no knowledge of how he works, and you can't know how he works if you don't actually know who he is.  He takes advantage of our lack of knowledge.  Like Emma, we can even be tricked into thinking he's on our side.  Problem is, his way of doing things leads to death and not to life.  So make sure you can identify your true enemy.  More importantly, make sure you know the Savior, the only one who can protect and save you from this enemy of ours.