Sharp, Sleek Sword

Sometime ago, in a hospital where I was practicing, a friend of mine gave us a riddle. He asked us to guess a powerful plague that is greater than HIV/AIDS and worse than cancer. His clue was This condition targets the heart of man. We all gave up after mentioning some heart diseases but could not decode his riddle. He cleared his throat and said, Deception is the canker that can destroy the body, soul, and spirit of a man. All terrible sicknesses in life can only destroy the body but not be able to kill the spirit and soul. Hence, deception is greater than HIV/AIDS and worse than cancer.

Mr. Deception could be described in many ways. He is a rapist; many people have been violently defiled physically, financially, economically, and spiritually through his activities. The trauma left in the life of his victims has made some people miserable for the rest of their days on earth. This monster has made mincemeat of wise men and women.

Ironically, this evil monster could be seen wearing a mask in many unusual places. His leprous fingers could be found turning families upside down and pitting best friends against one another. Mr. Deception will jeopardize the future generation through his nefarious work. He could use the government against ordinary citizens and pulpits against the pews. Mr. Deception is becoming more sinister and deadly and has become a tool in the hands of the enemy of our soul. He is perfect in what he does and is a smooth operator.

What our adversary, the devil, is doing today through deception mimics the events in chapter one of the book of Daniel. Satan targets the children of God with the nuclear weapon of deception. His ultimate goal is to deny them the presence of God in eternity. Everyone needs to brace up to wage war against deception, without which it may be difficult to fight the good fight of faith.