"Avoiding Deception" (Part 1)

 

“Avoiding Deception” (Part 1)

 

After my father’s death in 1992 my mother lived alone for about 16 years until she went to an assisted living facility. Since there were many phone scams targeting seniors at that time (and still are) my brother and I cautioned her to hang up if the caller was someone she didn’t know. To the best of our knowledge she was never victimized for which we were thankful.

Mom never had a cell phone or computer so we didn’t have to be concerned about text and email predators affecting her. But the crooks never give up. As I write on this early March afternoon I just received a “suspected spam” call which I didn’t answer. And already this month I’ve gotten four texts from four different sources claiming to represent a well-known retail outlet saying they’ve renewed our contract (which we’ve never had with this company), an email supposedly from our cell phone provider threatening that our service would end if I didn’t contact them (I called the carrier’s customer service line and was assured no such contact was made by them and there were no problems with our account) and a text offering to buy our house (our name and address were incorrect). All this points out that we must be diligent in protecting ourselves from deceptive practices. How do we do this? By making frequent use of the delete button, not answering calls from unknown sources, putting blocks on suspicious numbers, carefully checking our credit card and other billing statements, using Google to check out phone numbers and company names and safeguarding our personal information. In answering His disciples’ questions about the end times our Lord said, “Watch out that no one deceives you.” (Matthew 24:4). I believe He’s saying the same to us today, that we safeguard what He’s entrusted to us.

The old saying hasn’t changed: “If something appears to be too good to be true it probably is.” Thus we must be careful not to be taken in by the actions of those trying to separate us from our money by some get-rich-quick or other schemes which will only lead us on a downward path. Solomon wrote, “The blessing of the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.” (Proverbs 10:22, NLT, emphasis added). So let’s be thankful for the real Source of blessing which will never fail us.

 

Grace and Blessings! 

Jim McMillan