The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways,
    but the folly of fools is deception. Proverbs 14:8 NIV

A few mornings ago, I was making my bed and glanced out the window to see one of the many stray cats that find their way to our house walk by. I looked out the window to see which one it was now (there is one that drives me nuts with this weird yowling sound it makes when one of our cats confronts it). Much to my surprise, it wasn’t a stray cat. It was a bobcat now sitting on my front porch.

Technically it is a member of the feline species just like my domesticated cats. But it’s not the same. And if I hadn’t taken the time for a closer look, I would have been deceived. Stepping out the door to feed this cat would have been a different experience than feeding the other cats.

Satan loves to do the same thing with God’s word. He dresses it up to look like truth, hoping we won’t take a closer look. He’s counting on us being too busy and distracted to notice that this kitty will eat our dinner and leave us in shreds.

How do we guard against this deception?

Proverbs 14 tells us the prudent give thought to their ways. This means we are intentional in considering the things we do, the places we go, the people we listen to and surround ourselves with.

The Protection of Truth

And we hold everything we allow into our lives up against the truth of God’s Word. To do that we have to be in God’s Word. Listening to popular or passionate pastors or bible teachers won’t do. Reading books, listening to sermons or podcasts… none of these can take the place of reading our Bibles.

In the banking world, it is a common practice to teach tellers and cashiers to spot counterfeit money by only letting them handle real money. They become so well acquainted with the look and feel of the real thing that they can spot a fraud instantly.

As followers of Christ, we need to be well acquainted with the real thing that we will spot the counterfeit before it has a chance to deceive us. Once we’ve followed the path of deception, it’s not an easy thing to overcome. There may be consequences that linger for the rest of our lives.

These days, though, it is a risky thing to decide who to listen to or follow. In world bursting with AI (artificial intelligence), self-appointed fact checkers, and the ability to say whatever we want when and wherever we want thanks to the immediacy of social media, it takes the wisdom of God and the discernment of the Holy Spirit. Not the number of followers on social media or popularity of the church.

Deception is everywhere in the world around us. We can’t assume that deception can’t touch our churches, our spiritual leaders, or even our favorite authors. 

The Importance of Diligence

In 2 Peter 14-18, Peter tells us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior and to beware. The Christian who isn’t diligent in this is at risk of “being led away with the error of the wicked.”

We must acknowledge that deception is everywhere. And deception wouldn’t be deception if it were easy to detect.

But if we are careful and faithful to practice the same technique used to train the bank tellers, consistently handling only what is true—the Bible—our ability to spot and detect deception will be much greater.

The world will never be rid of deception until Christ has come to make all things new (see Revelation 21:5). But believers don’t have to fall prey to it when they know the truth.

Are you opening the door to deception in your life through the things you go to for guidance? Have you let the popularity of an idea or a teacher become your litmus test for trustworthiness? This week, seek truth in God’s word and refuse to allow deception an opportunity to kill, steal, or destroy all that God has for you.

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