The Art of Deception
Posted by Pastor Andrew
I shared a message at our last Pathway (Singles) Gathering on topic of deception, and the impact it has had on our daily lives. Not a day goes by when we’re not exposed to some sort of deception. In fact, there have been times where we’ve done the deceiving, whether it’s with our coworkers, our supervisors, or even our family members. And if we’re honest with ourselves, most of us would say that we’ve told some white lies here and there. We are surrounded by deception. It’s all around us. And one of the reasons why this is so prevalent in our world is because there is a deceiver, and his name is Satan. He was instrumental in deceiving the very first human beings, Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), and to this day he has been hard at work, in deceiving the world with his lies. Jesus describes him in this way:
“He (Satan) was a killer from the very start. He couldn’t stand the truth because there wasn’t a shred of truth in him. When the Liar speaks, he makes it up out of his lying nature and fills the world with lies.” – John 8:44 (The Message)
Jesus calls him a killer and a liar, and his ultimate goal is to prevent us from ever experiencing the FULLNESS of being in a relationship with God our Heavenly Father. He wants to place as much distance as he can between us and God, because he knows that the closer we draw to our Heavenly Father, the more we start to look and act like Him. And there’s nothing he hates more than to see us emulating and imitating the character of God.
One of Satan’s tactics is to get us to a place, an environment, or a moment where he can entice and tempt us. And once we start buying into the lies he feeds us, we get dragged away by our sinful desires as it says in James 1:14, and soon afterward the deception clouds the reality of who God has called us to be. It even comes to a point where we often justify our behaviors, even though we know they are dishonoring to God. And this is why James exhorts the believers, “Do not be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.” (James 1:16)
In other words, don’t let Satan steal that relationship away from you. Don’t give the enemy the opportunity to leverage his lies, but hold fast to the truth and what God has so say about you. Don’t believe the lies of a killer, rather, place your trust in the Life-Giver.
