Dangerous Deceptions

by Melissa Spoelstra | | 6 comments

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After a night of intermittent sleep, I woke up feeling groggy and unsettled. I went through my morning routine including some vague prayers and Bible reading where my mind wandered more than focused. I answered a few emails, organized some paperwork, and participated in a zoom meeting. Then I wandered into the kitchen to make lunch but my eyes were drawn to the large screen sitting above the mantle. I began to make internal justifications why I deserved an afternoon off distracting myself with a television show.

I had work to do, but I could find another time to squeeze it in without missing deadlines.

I had minor surgery the previous week and probably needed some additional rest (even though I had been back to normal for days.)

I didn’t sleep well so I wouldn’t be efficient if I tried to work anyway.

Don’t hear me say there is never a time to take an afternoon off, but this wasn’t a case of self-care. You see, I struggle with television. Maybe it’s not your brand of escape, but perhaps you like to distract yourself with social media, novels, online games, or something else. All of these resources can be helpful tools, but they can also easily get out of balance. If we aren’t careful, they can become our masters rather than our servants.

We must pay attention when isolated incidents become patterns of behavior. We have access like never before to online resources, libraries of books, and Bibles galore. The problem isn’t always ignorance of God’s message, but the abundance of other messages that threaten to crowd it out. Seemingly innocent distracting messages can lead to subtle lies seeping into our thinking. Discernment will help us recognize counterfeit messages that are woven into the fabric of both our culture and our sinful nature. We can learn from the early church to separate important truth from dangerous deceptions.

In Acts 5, a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold property and gave part of it to the church. The problem wasn’t that they didn’t give it all, but that they said they gave the full amount. Acts 5:2 says, “He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.”

They both died as a result of their lie. This punishment seems harsh through our modern lens and perhaps to the early church members because Acts 5:11 tells us that fear gripped the church when news of deaths spread throughout the community.

It’s possible Ananias and Sapphira lied to the church because they wanted the accolades. While it may be hard to accept the severity of the lesson, we find that God used extreme measures to warn the early church about the dangers of half-truths.

This occurrence reminds us that God takes deception seriously. Even small lies offend God’s Holy Spirit. They can affect and infect a spiritual community. We aren’t immune to dangerous deceptions in our culture. Here are a few I notice on a regular basis:

“It’s normal to have sex before marriage.” (Many sitcoms today normalize this behavior.)

“The most important thing in life is to love yourself.” (Check out the bestsellers on Amazon lately.)

“You deserve comfort and security.” (Seen any Facebook ads lately?)

To awaken His church, God illustrated the severity of deception in a very tangible way. While we may wrestle with His method, let’s not miss His message! Deception leads to death. Maybe not in the physical sense like Ananias and Sapphira experienced, but lies kill relationships, dreams, and hope. But the good news is that God’s message leads to life. Abundant life. That’s why He longs for us to live in the truth and not be suckered into consuming culture’s counterfeits.

After my terrible, horrible, no good very bad day filled with television, I knew some changes were in order. I didn’t want to be legalistic and try to manage my temptations. Yet I found that as I spent time in honest prayer, the Holy Spirit nudged me to set some personal guardrails. Like braces that realign the teeth for a certain amount of time, I set some boundaries regarding my media consumption. Awakening to God’s messages with some small changes in my daily routine has brought clarity and joy. I’m praying that God’s Spirit awakens you to His messages in your everyday life.

Let’s Pray

Lord, we struggle against the many messages of our culture. Help us identify and turn away from lies. Purify our hearts that we want Your fame rather than the approval of others. We are so human, Lord. Awaken us to Your message throughout this day!
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn 

Can you identify any activity in your life that threatens to become master if you don’t stay on guard? (If you are having trouble answering this, think of your self-talk regarding limits you set for yourself but struggle to maintain.)

More from the Girlfriends

Check out Melissa’s new Bible study titled Acts: Awakening to God in Everyday Life for an in-depth study of the early church.

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