Through the advice of the serpent which he advised to Eve, Adam went out from Paradise. Its punishment was hard and grievous. God took from it its food and gave to it the dust. It was thrown on the earth and moved on its belly. He made it without feet, because by them it had injured and rushed against Adam. It eats dust all its days until eternity, because it deceived Eve with food. He set it as an enemy and gave its head to be trampled underfoot. For like the serpent which caused Adam to err, misleading, troublesome, evil, bullying, treacherous and unrighteous people have arisen among us who build injustice and destroy righteousness.
They plant wickedness and root out grace.
They let the weeds grow and destroy the wheat.
They revile the just and bless the unrighteous.
They love the haughty and hate the humble.
They praise the treacherous and hold them to be true.
They despise and hold the truthful to be false.
They vow iniquity and fulfil dishonesty.
They conceive and bring forth words of destruction.
They pervert their tongues and speak emptiness.
They are empty of goodness but puffed up with treachery.
There are no fruits in them to eat because they are infected with the poison of the serpent.
St Aphrahat. Demonstration Fourteen: On Exhortation, 12.
Translation by Kuriakose Valavanolickal.
Indeed, there are people out there like the serpent. They think bad is good and are forever trying to undo righteous people. To me the challenge is to reach out to these people and pray they open their hearts to Jesus.