Attempts to Deceive

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. 3He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. 4In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. (Psalm 10:2-4)

"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Sir Walter Scott

As noted in a devotion last week, when you break one commandment, you break the First by not putting your full faith and trust in God, and then others seem to follow. No other place do we find this than the Fifth Commandment: "You shall not kill."

Many a movie plot about a murder (or murders) begin with a plot to deceive and goes from there. Our legal code tells us all we need to know about killing, with various charges and attempts on life written into the code up to and including a murder, like Charlie Kirk's recent killing, that qualifies a person for "capital murder" charges.

In our own brilliance, lies for various reasons or "attempts to deceive" weave a web of tales, acts and actions that ultimately lead to the unfortunate death of another. "You violate one commandment; you violate them all."

The good news is God sees through the deception we weave and sends us a Savior, for those who have murdered, or lied, or deceived and for those who have hated, begrudged a neighbor, and not love the neighbor as self. For that we are grateful. For that, we should be humbled and bow on bent knee daily knowing God is there for us, even through our own deception, woven webs and all.

Pray with me: Dear God, help me put you first, and help me worship you and you alone. Guide me to not deceive in my own vanity, but rather to use my skills of words and words you have given us to love my neighbor, put the best construct on my neighbor's actions, and to share your good news of everlasting life to those who are in need. In Christ's name, Amen.