Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. (Jam 1:16 ESV)The story is told of a certain African tribe that learned an easy way to capture ducks in a river. Catching their agile and wary dinner would be a feat indeed, so they formulated a plan.
The tribesmen learned to go upstream,
place a pumpkin in the river, and let it slowly float down into the
flock of ducks. At first, the cautious fowl would quack and fly away.
After all, it wasn't ordinary for pumpkins to float down the river!
But the persistent tribesmen would subsequently float another pumpkin
into the re-gathered ducks. Again they would scatter, only to return
after the strange sphere had passed. Again, the hungry hunters would
float another pumpkin. This time the ducks would remain, with a
cautious eye on the pumpkin, and with each successive passing, the
ducks would become more comfortable, until they finally accepted the
pumpkins as a normal part of life.
When the natives saw that the pumpkins
no longer bothered the ducks, they hollowed out pumpkins, put them
over their heads, and walked into the river. Meandering into the
midst of the tolerant fowl, they pulled them down one at a time.
Dinner? Roast duck.
Satan is described as the deceiver and
deception comes in many forms. The Greek word in James means to
be led astray. We can be deceived or led away from Christ in
many ways. We can be deceived by false teachers (Mat 24:4); we
can be deceived by sin, thinking that we can live a life contrary to
the gospel and still inherit the kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9-10); we can be
deceived by the negative influence of the wrong people (1 Cor 15:33);
or by being led astray by the love of money (2 Pet 2:15); and even be
deceived into thinking we do not sin at all! (1 john 1:8). In
what ways are you tempted to be led away from Christ? Or what
ways do you see the body of Christ led away from Christ? Let me
know!
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