She frantically ran out of the bush waving her arms shouting, mungafweko! Mungafweko!—please help me! Please help me! In the distance, I saw two men chasing after her. My natural instinct said stop and rescue this damsel in distress. With her, only five feet from my truck, I sped by. In those few brief seconds, the Holy Spirit reminded me I was driving on the most notorious highway for robbery and auto theft in Zambia. Thieves commonly employed this deception for stealing vehicles. In my rear view mirrors, I saw her stop, noticeably irritated, shrugging her shoulders as she talked with the two men. All three turned around and together calmly walked back into the bush. Perhaps waiting for another motorist they might deceive.
From Genesis to Revelation scriptures record deception as a major tactic of Satan. He deceived Eve and she ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He even tried deceiving Jesus to turn stones into bread after His forty days of fasting. The devil employs multiple enticements for his deceptions—wealth, our own appetites, bad company, smooth and flattering speech, and empty words to mention a few named in scripture.
The word deception means anything that misleads by a false impression, whether by appearance, statement, or influence. In other words, like an animal trap that appears as an appealing meal yet hides the snare around it. Most of us can identify with catching a mouse using a piece of cheese as bait. So enticed by the smell and sight of the food the mouse does not perceive the trap.
Talk is cheap, but we must not overlook the fact that talk is also powerful. Paul contented with false teachers who used deceptive talk as their means of turning people away from the Gospel. Men by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting (Rom 16:18). Let no one deceive you with empty words, (Eph 5:6).
I consider self-deception as one of the most dangerous kinds of deception. A man can deceive his own heart (Jas 1:26). Let no man deceive himself (1Co 3:18). For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself (Gal 6:3). Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (Jam 1:22). If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us (1Jn 1:8).
The more I studied deception this week, the more I thought of the Santa Claus song. “He’s everywhere! He’s everywhere!” Deception, it’s everywhere! It’s everywhere in the world today. Jesus strongly warned of deception in the last days. Jesus answered: “Watch out that no-one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. (Mat 24:4, 5). And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. (Mat 24:11).
A great battleground in churches today employs tactics of deception. As Jude declared, certain men have secretly slipped in among you . . . who change the grace of our God into a licence for immorality (1:4). Others deceive by changing the definition of sin. However, God has already defined sin, and grace does not tolerate sin. Scripture states it clearly. Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God (1Co 6:9, 10).
Satan targets those who are ignorant of God’s Word because he can more easily deceive them. The deception by the thieves in Zambia was thwarted because the Holy Spirit reminded me of the information I had stored in my mind about the tactics of robbers. Had I not known that, I may have stopped, and would not be alive today to write this. Knowing scripture is our best safeguard. Also, we must constantly ask and allow the Holy Spirit to search our hearts and show areas in which we may be deceiving ourselves. Some might say, “That can’t happen to me” but this statement indicates they are already deceived. It can happen to any believer. I have been deceived too many times to let my guard down or resist the searching and convictions of the Holy Spirit.
I learned from living in Zambia that I must constantly be vigilant against man’s deception. That lesson has kept me safe, as I traveled in other dangerous countries. Yet, most of all we must guard against spiritual deception, it’s everywhere, and it appears on the increase as time moves toward the final deception—the Anti-Christ. Believers must use caution who and what they believe. Satan is seeking for anyone he can deceive.
Sustaining Word for the Week: Deception exists all around us. But the Holy Spirit will teach you His word, which He can bring to your mind and He will also give you discernment. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any self-deceptions within your heart.