Deceitfulness
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. – 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. – 1 Peter 5:8.
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. – John 8:44.
Since the 1970s Joey Skaggs has been the perpetrator of numerous hoaxes. Joey says, “I’ve never had a hoax that failed.” Some of Joey’s more famous hoaxes were: “the Gypsy Moth Anti-Defamation League” (Protested the political incorrectness of the term “Gypsy Moth.”), “The Fat Squad” (Assumed the role of a former drill sergeant who was determined to wipe out obesity.), “Hair Transplants from the Dead” (Promoted cure for baldness through hair transplants from the dead.), and a “Celebrity Sperm Auction.” (Flash forward to the year 2015 and there is hoax about women becoming pregnant from flu shots! Crazy to believe something like that!) Skaggs claims that journalists never bother to verify the facts when he sends out a simple press release, or makes a few phone calls announcing a hoax.
As Christians we are not to be suspicious people (1 Corinthians 13:5c), but at the same time, we must be aware that people will sometimes lie. Not only that, but some lies are demonically inspired. To go through life refusing to believe that anyone can do anything wrong or even tell a lie is to live in spiritual blindness. We must listen to the Holy Spirit as He will reveal to us when lies are being spoken, or deceptions perpetrated (Acts 5:1-11). The devil and his legions will attempt to have you believe spiritual hoaxes that may very well come close to the truth, sound like the truth, but still be untrue. The enemy will warp and misstate the Words of God (Matthew 4) to back up his spiritual hoax.
No, we should not constantly think the worst of others, however, we must be “sober” and “vigilant” for our enemy would love to destroy us. The closer we are to God, the more we know His Word, the more we communicate with Him, the less susceptible we will be to falling victim to the hoaxes of the enemy.
(As Christians we are not to be suspicious people (1 Corinthians 13:5c) but at the same time we must be aware that people will sometimes lie. Not only that, but some lies are demonically inspired.)