THE VILLAIN DECEIVES
It’s no secret that I actually have run with the flawed crowds in some seasons of my life. In my pre-Jesus days, I fell in with all types of the flawed people. In one particular season in highschool, I ran with some guys who stole things. Now, these guys weren’t master criminals pulling off Ocean’s Eleven sort of stunts, but they’d steal things. We would go right into a gas station or Walmart and they’d find something they wanted. They would wear a puffy, oversized coat (which must have been the sign we were as much as no good in South Texas), slip the items inside their coats, and walk out the door.
Now, I couldn’t bring myself to try this. Before you’re thinking that too highly of me, it isn’t because I used to be righteous, but because I used to be a coward. I used to be afraid of getting caught. I could play out the scenario in my head. My dad was this John Wayne–like, larger-than-life sort of man. Do you recognize what my dad had no patience for? Me engaging in petty theft and ruining the family name in our small town.
As a youngster, the worst-case scenario for me was getting caught by store security and the cops being called after which my dad checking out. The idea of a cop calling my dad and saying, “Mr. Pokluda, we’d like you to return right down to the station and pick up your son,” was enough for me to attract a line within the sand. My moral compass was not all that strong, but I had a healthy fear of my dad.
The one thing I’d do, which continues to be very much stealing, is I’d switch the value tags. I’d take the value tag of something not value very much and put it on something of great value. One hot summer night we went to the shop and I saw the Boyz II Men CD I had been wanting, and it was $13.99. The problem was that I, with no job and no income, didn’t have $13.99. So, I looked across the store to be certain no employees were around.
My friends knew what I used to be as much as, so that they served as lookouts (just in case). About ten feet away there was a bin stuffed with movie show candy boxes that were all one dollar, so I grabbed one in every of those boxes, moved the value tag from the candy box to the CD, and impulsively, I used to be well on my technique to being the owner of a brand-new CD. The cashier would ring it up, think nothing of it aside from Wow, that child just got an amazing deal, and I would go away with it.
This is one other technique to say, I stole stuff too. It was deceptive. It was theft. And for the record, I actually have made that right since then. Still, at the moment in my life, deception got here slightly too naturally.
THE OLDEST TRICK IN THE BOOK
My hunch is, the rationale I used to be so comfortable living a lifetime of deception at the moment is that deception is a tool of the Enemy. The Scriptures make it clear that one in every of the Enemy’s primary methods of attack is deception. Satan lies—attempting to persuade us of all types of falsehoods.
People like I used to be, based on 2 Corinthians 11:13–15, “are false apostles, deceitful staff, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of sunshine. It isn’t surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.”
Satan and his forces disguise themselves because the “good guys” as one other technique of deception. They attempt to make what’s evil look good. They are switching the value tags to deceive us and make what’s worthwhile seem less worthwhile.
Jesus said to those persecuting Him, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you ought to perform your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the start, not holding to the reality, for there isn’t a truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he’s a liar and the daddy of lies” (John 8:44).
Satan has been using deception because the very starting, starting in Genesis 3 with Eve. God had created the world, all of the animals, all of the birds, the sun, the moon, the sky, the ocean, the land—all of it. And it was all perfect. Then He created Adam and Eve, in His image, and tasked them with ruling over the earth with one explicit instruction: Do not, under any circumstance, eat from the tree of the knowledge of excellent and evil because for those who do, you’ll die.
Then Satan, who the text describes as “crafty,” scurried over to Eve and got her to doubt God: Did God really say that?
Eve knew exactly what God said! She even quoted it back to the serpent. Then the Enemy doubled down with a lie, saying, “You is not going to actually die . . . For God knows that whenever you eat from it your eyes shall be opened, and also you shall be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4–5). He was not only questioning what God said, but now he was downright refuting it.
THE LIES WE BELIEVE TODAY
This same deception plays out in our lives today. It is almost definitely happening on the thought level. The Enemy likes to mess along with your thoughts. Remember: there may be a demonic spirit on the market who’s studying you and knows tips on how to mess along with your head.
Think in regards to the lies the Enemy feeds you:
– God is ripping you off: Why has He not given you a spouse? It looks like everyone else has one. Oh, and you don’t want to attend until you might be married to have sex. Why would God not want you to rejoice?
– You need more: If you simply had slightly more cash . . . If you simply lived in that neighborhood, had that automobile, you’d be joyful then.
– Your sin must stay secret: If people knew that thing about you, they’d reject you. Keep it hidden. No one else struggles such as you do.
Satan is doing what he does best: sneaking up and affecting your thoughts, saying, *“You got ripped off. You got dealt a foul hand”.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. Have you ever believed a lie about yourself, your circumstances, or your value that later turned out to be deception? What was it?
2. What are some common lies you struggle with today? How are you able to counter them with Scripture?
3. Read John 8:44 and a pair of Corinthians 11:13–15. What do these verses teach us about Satan’s tactics?
4. What practical steps can you are taking to provide yourself with protection against deception in your thoughts and every day life?
5. Is there a trusted friend or mentor you possibly can share your struggles with to bring lies into the sunshine? How can community assist in overcoming deception?
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/Tatiana
This is an excerpt from Jonathan Pokluda’s book, Your Story Has a Villain, published by Thomas Nelson Publishing , which explores spiritual warfare and the way the Enemy operates in our every day lives. In this chapter, JP unpacks how deception is one in every of Satan’s only tactics—and the way we will fight back with truth. © Copyright 2025 by HarperCollins Christian Publishing
He has written 5 best-selling books, and is currently working on “Your Story Has a Villain.” This book is for you for those who’re weary from the struggle and able to embrace the abundant life God has for us. It will aid you explore the tactics of Satan, equip you to beat spiritual battles, and remind you of the victory already secured through Jesus. Learn more at his website, jonathanpokluda.com. Click here for Unite Us, a movement of school students united to lift the name of Jesus.
