Monday, January 8, 2007
One day our ministry got a call from a lady who identified herself as being with a bank that we don't even do business with. She said, "The wire transfer has not come through yet" and she wanted us to call her back with more information. Interestingly enough, no such lady works at the bank she mentioned. The folks at the bank told us that things like this can actually be part of a very clever scam that crooks use to get your money. They lead you to believe that a donation is coming through; they just need your bank routing number. But that information might be all they need to access your bank account and get what's in your bank account transferred to their bank account. So you have to be a little careful out there. There are plenty of folks out there who are claiming to give you something, so they can take something!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about Scam Bait.
The ultimate scammer - the ultimate thief - is, of course, Satan himself. He certainly knows that the best way to get you to do what you thought you'd never do - to lose what you thought you'd never lose - is to claim to give you something.
Jesus reveals what the devil's plans are for you; things the devil hopes you never know or that you'll forget. In John 10:10, our word for today from the Word of God, Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Notice the thief from hell isn't coming to give you anything, anymore than a fisherman is planning to give those fish anything - except just enough bait to hook them. Jesus says the thief comes only to steal from you, only to kill and destroy everything that matters to you.
But like scam artists who are trying to get personal financial information, Satan knows that it has to appear you're going to get something good in order for you to walk into his trap. Something good - like a little pleasure, a promotion, some relief from your pain for a while, or maybe some love that you've been hoping for.
I remember the night a teenager from my Campus Life Club called me with an urgent question. She said, "Tell me again why I shouldn't have sex before I'm married." I could tell it was more than a theoretical question. She was dating a guy who told her that tired old line, "If you love me, you'll do it." Well, I gave her what I thought was a strong argument for keeping her virginity, but this guy must have made a better case. She called me again about two weeks later and she said, "I had sex with him. And I haven't seen him since."
That was a tragic and classic example of how the thief from hell takes what you never meant to give. This girl had never dated much and a guy seeming to care about her made her feel better about herself. But to keep that feeling, she had to give up her virginity. Tragically, she went into the relationship to feel better about herself and she ended up feeling more worthless than she had ever felt before. You see, the thief came to steal - not to give!
I don't know what seemingly "good thing" you're tempted by right now. Is it love, is it success, is it money, excitement, relief, or friends? Don't let it scam you into sinning. The one who's trying to get you to do this is not a giver - he's a taker! Don't fall for it! There is so little to gain and so very much to lose.