“This face cream will make you look ten years younger for only $19.99.” The promise sounded great until I read the fine print. I realized I had to buy a kit of face products, four times the original cream’s cost. Whenever an initial offer or promise is altered in any way to draw you into a different agreement, it is called a bait-and-switch scam or lie.
The First Bait-and-Switch Lie Started in Eden
Adam and Eve walked with God. Yet, they stopped to listen and talk with Satan. Their conversation opened a door in their minds, which ignited their sinful desires of pride to be a god. They chose to believe a snake, Satan, over their Father and Creator, God. They chose to let Satan’s deceitful words tickle their sinful flesh desires and ignore God’s warning. They didn’t ask God for his truth, guidance, or help. They believed the bait-and-switch lies, and the fall of man into sin began.
God created us to be in relationships with him and others. The devil also knows this truth. He uses our unawareness of God’s truth, our sin of pride (all about us), and the unhealthiness we have accepted as normal from others to bait us with his lies. Let’s look at how our enemy uses the sinful desires of our flesh to entice us, described by James, Christ’s disciple.
God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from OUR desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. (James 1:12-18, NLT)
If we are not in a personal relationship with Jesus daily, studying his word, and working with him to be transformed into his likeness, we will not know God’s love and truth. Not knowing God’s love and truth, standards, defenses, and instructions makes us vulnerable to our enemy’s deception.
How to Spot a Scam or Lie
The saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it is,” holds true concerning the things and ways of the world and imperfect people. When someone offers you products, information, truth, or promises in relationships, test it against God’s word first. See if it follows Christ’s love, respect, honor, truth, and character. See if the fine print or people’s attitudes, words, and actions confirm their offer or if they change the initial offer immediately or over time. Inconsistencies reveal lies.
Verify what you believe, follow, buy, and your relationships. If you purchase an apple tree according to someone’s offer, but it produces pears, it is not an apple tree. Jesus tells us. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. (Matt. 12:34) He tells us to examine people according to their fruits, which are their attitudes, words, and actions. How can they be true if what they say differs from their attitudes and actions? Jesus tells us.
“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. (Matt. 7:15-20, NLT)
God wove our need to be in a personal relationship with him and others into our souls when he knitted us in our mother’s wombs. (Psalms 139:13) We will always be searching until we come to our loving Father, God. However, we must be wise and aware. We must verify offers and relationships with God’s truth and Christ’s example.
Let God’s Truth and Plan for You Protect You
God’s word is the only perfect truth and moral compass in the world. Our country’s original morals, values, and standards are the foundation of our laws and Constitution. They instruct us to treat people with respect, equality, compassion, healthy boundaries with consequences, and in Christ’s love. Christ’s way of evaluating offers and people by their fruits helps us see any deception.
Not all information or people are what they appear to be on the outside. Only through the wisdom and discernment of the Holy Spirit working in us through Christ can we uncover and avoid people’s lies and Satan’s traps. Jesus shares what will happen to deception in this passage.
In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately, the fig tree withered up. (Matt. 21:19-20, NLT)
We must immediately walk away when we realize something is a scam or temptation. If people’s fruits are unhealthy, we must draw boundaries in love when possible, keep our interaction small, or end the relationship. Only they can change their heart with Jesus, not us. Keep praying for them but follow God’s instructions. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Prov. 4:23, NIT)
As disciples of Christ, let us walk daily with him and live in his wisdom, discernment, and power to flee from temptation and the schemes and lies of the enemy. Let us put on the full armor of God and live a life worthy of the love and sacrifice of Christ! With Christ, we can overcome deception!
