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Are You Who You Thought You Were?
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Chapter 10 Deception (“O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!” Sir Walter Scott) Have you ever successfully removed a spider web from yourself, in a one step process? Most likely not, the web further tangles when you try to pull it off. Eventually you succeed, but not without a struggle. Deceit can be like a spider web, tangling you up until you deceive yourself into thinking it is gone, but later, you discover that part of it is still attached. The idea of Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, the Easter eggs, and other methods of deception parents’ use on their children are all tricks of the devil. satan is the father of lies and deception; his methods are subtle, leading you away from the truth before you can even be told the truth. These things, when found to be a lie, can cause one to be leery of the truth when it is later presented. “Adults find pleasure in deceiving a child. They consider it necessary, but they also enjoy it. The children very quickly figure it out and then practice deception themselves” Elias Canetti. “Obedience opens the door to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And the spiritual gifts and abilities activated by the power of the Holy Ghost enable us to avoid deception and to see, to feel, to know, to understand, and to remember things as they really are” David Bednar. In the book of Esther KJV, we see where Haman hanged on the gallows which he had prepared for Mordecai. Haman occupied a high position given to him by King Ahasuerus. Haman had a seat above all the princes who were with him. And all the king’s servants who were in the king’s gate bowed and reverenced Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai neither bowed nor reverenced. This rubbed Haman a bit raw; he was very angry and developed a strong dislike for Mordecai. Later in the story, satan deceived Haman through his wife and friends to build a gallows with the purpose in mind to hang Mordecai, but in the end, it was he who hanged on the gallows that he built. “The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions” Leonardo da Vinci. Proverbs 3KJV warns us of this. We must learn to practice truth once it is discovered. satan wants us to always be skeptical of what is true, leading us to believe that lies and deceptions are the truth. He uses things that are common to you and things that you find pleasure in doing—the Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Halloween; if it were not so, we would not find pleasure in pacifying our children with these types of lies. Some are so excited about deceiving the children. They can’t wait until Christmas and Easter to come; they prepare for these events to deceive their children again and again. Dad (the head of household, the leader that God set forth to lead his family into righteousness) dresses up as Santa to deceive his children. Mom gets excited about Easter; they decorate with eggs and rabbits and dress up the kids to go to church to hear the real truth but yet still continue the lie when they get home with the Easter egg hunt, and to the children, it’s all about that. “Worse than telling a lie is spending your whole life staying true to a lie” Robert Brault. “If you want to become fully mature in the Lord, you must learn to love truth. Otherwise, you will always leave open a door of deception for the enemy to take what is meant to be yours” Joyce Meyer. “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22KJV). The truth that is preached on these special days or should be preached on Christmas and Easter, if presented correctly, should show how the word of God can be a wall, a shield, a form of protection against deception. “Knowledge of God’s Word is a bulwark against deception, temptation, accusation, even persecution” Edwin Louis Cole. Proverbs 12:22 KJV says, “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.” Let us look at “the season to be jolly” for a moment. Christmas time is when we feel pressured to buy merchandise for others and can lead to disappointment when the thoughtfulness expressed is not reciprocated. Is that what God, who commands us to love one another, would want?Who benefits the most from this season? (Hosea 12:7 KJV). Keep in mind, this season does not cause all to be jolly. Some become depressed and sad, and other negative emotions occur because they just don’t have it to give; they can’t keep up with the Jones. These are the ones wise enough to know their state. They can’t afford to engage in the jolly-giving, but others are not so wise. They borrow money (credit cards, store-revolving accounts, etc.). They enter into debt far beyond their means. Does this honor God? What honors God is: the love we have for him and one another all year, not just at the end, I’m just saying. Remember, satan wants us to always be skeptical of what is true, leading us to believe that lies and deception are the truth. I know some of you are saying, “We donate to charities and other entities to help people in need. Much is collected and distributed this time of the year to bring joy to those sad hearts.” My question is, they don’t need before this time of year? I’m just saying. To guard against these types of deception we must follow what Romans 12:2 KJV says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” If we continue to deceive the children who are the future generations, we will be
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About the Book
God is capable of creating such perfection and splendor and must have a great plan and a purpose for us. Well, he does; he wants to reveal that purpose to us and to show us the way out of the pain, the sorrow we have brought on ourselves (self-inflected wounds) from rejecting his ways. Perception is what determines how we believe; if our perception is wrong, we believe in error because perception is not always reality. Love is the cause that effectively affects people, but sometimes, we go in circles because we can’t see the path. And sometimes, it’s just because we believe we are smarter than the average bear, and we tell ourselves it is what it is, but this stems from self-inflected wounds that are often initiated by dictated living, things you didn’t see because you were too busy looking. In some cases, vanity might be the reason greed did not reveal the deception that was at work because we might have been in a state of “Hurry up and wait.” Selfishness is the syndrome that misleads or deceives most often. If we learn to trust in God’s plan, we learn to live a life of integrity and develop a giving spirit; we learn to forgive as we learn to be servants. In the end, we learn that love is life’s only true satisfaction.
About the Author
I, Chris Johnson, am a believer in God the Father; Jesus (the Risen Savior), God’s only begotten Son; and the Holy Spirit of God that comforts and guides us to the things of God. I have encountered many people who liked to tell me certain things about their lives—some I know and some I don’t know. People just like to tell me things. A stranger would tell me his or her personal things, and when I ask why I was chosen, he or she would answer, “It is just something about you.” I am a good listener. I listen to what they are feeling as well as what they are saying because one word can have several different effects, depending on their feelings at the time the word was spoken. These writings are mostly roundtable discussions that I have had in various settings, concerning these things that people would tell me.