The Dangerous Draw of Deception

Take heed lest you fall

After three smoke-filled days in Leavenworth, Washington last August, my husband and I escaped the tourist trappings of the town and went in search of adventure.  We followed the scenic Stevens Pass Highway, through the Northern Cascade Range to Deception Falls.  The skies cleared that morning, and we caught our first glimpse of the majestic mountains surrounding Leavenworth. 

We arrived at the falls and followed the short trail that led from the parking lot to the upper falls.  Even in the low-water levels of late summer, the view was breathtaking. Across the footbridge, I saw a higher viewpoint of the falls and hiked up the hill. Water cascaded over enormous buff-colored boulders, the flow separating, then reconnecting before separating again in a freefall into the river below. 

Another trail led down along the river to the lower falls, and I followed the path as it twisted and turned, winding through old-growth forest and trees draped with moss.  The air was fresh and clean, pungent with cedar and fir; the water a quiet companion at my side, flowing shallow and slow.  Sunlight pierced the canopy overhead, shafts of light bringing sparkle and shine to the river, as sprays of water dashed into rocks midstream, and burst into misty rainbows.

I heard the characteristic roar of a waterfall and continued down the path, curious what might lie ahead.  Rounding the corner, I was stunned to see the peaceful flowing water slam with furious might into a massive boulder, an immense wall of stone that blocked the path of the river.  The water roared full force into the rock wall, as irresistible force met immovable object. After its cataclysmic collision with the stone monolith, the river took an abrupt right turn, dropped down a few feet and settled back into a slow-moving waterway once again; now on a new course, ninety degrees to the right of its former path.

Something about this unexpected sight shook me.  I climbed back up the hill, ruminating on the collision of the water beating on the immovable stone.  The name, “Deception Falls” lingered in my mind.   The river’s twists and turns, the upper cascade, the hidden view above, the concealment of what lay ahead, the collision and the unexpected aftermath: it was surprising, beautiful and fearsome all in one. 

Deception.  The word oozes evil.  It is as duplicitous as a ruse, as false as a scam, as fraudulent as a plug nickel.  A simple dictionary definition of the word cannot contain its power - “to accept what is true and valid, what is false and invalid - to ensnare, to lure someone or something into a trap, by means of a lie.” 

On the surface, it appears good; but once unveiled is evil.  Like a check drawn on a cancelled account, a worthless stock from a belly-up business, or a beautiful façade concealing a dilapidated building, it promises what it can never deliver.

Why?  Because it begins with a lie. 

Deception was the lure that hooked Eve and then Adam in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:1-7 tells the account: “Now the servant was craftier than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.” Other translations substitute the word “crafty” with clever, subtle, cunning and shrewd.

In this account, Satan asks Eve one question. “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?” And there it was - a moment of doubt as Satan planted a tiny seed of unbelief in Eve’s mind.  That one seed drew Eve away from full confidence in her Creator and seduced her into trusting this creature’s word over God’s word. Though she knew the penalty was death if she ate or touched the forbidden tree, she kept listening. Satan ensnares her with these words:

“You will not surely die.”

These deceitful words led her to question God at His word, to reject faith and embrace sight, for as the account says, “the tree was a delight to Eve’s eyes and was to be desired to make one wise.”  Together, Eve and Adam believed the lie and ate of the tree.  Then, like the river colliding with the rock wall, their perfect lives were fractured; obliterated by sin. 

The consequences were immediate -- their eyes were opened, they knew they were naked, and they hid from God, ashamed and guilty; their intimate communion with their Creator shattered with one single action. That which was once perfect, became broken and shameful.

By a lie.

This is the nature of duplicity; it begins with an irresistible lure and hooks one with the promise of an excellent outcome. A promise that will never be kept. 

The prophet Jeremiah writes: “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Wait a minute.  Are you telling me I can’t follow my heart?  

The apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 5:6: “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

No matter how appealing it may appear, a word of deception can hurl one headlong into sin, with nothing to slow the progression toward the inevitable moment when my wrong collides with God’s right. The result - Guilt. Shame. Death.

How do I say no to the draw of deception?

The antidote to a lie is the truth.  Truth is embodied in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who “committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.” (1 Peter 2:22).  

Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God, took the punishment I deserved. He bore my betrayal, my lies, and my sin all the way to death on a cross and offered his life in exchange for mine.  He came to do the will of His Father, to make a way for man to once again have communion with God.

When Jesus died and rose from the dead, he conquered death, once and for all.  Now, it is as if, he stands in front of the rock wall and absorbs the impact I deserve. His arms are wide open to receive me, a sinner, forgive me and change the course of my life with an abrupt right turn.  He fills me with His Spirit, and I turn away from evil and follow Him.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.  (John 14:6) Through His sacrifice, I am restored to a right relationship with God the Father. 

Though I am secure in Christ, the enemy still attempts to deceive me, even as he tempted Christ in Matthew 4:1-10: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Three times Satan attempted to deceive the Lord and three times Jesus responded with the Word of God. Why would God allow his Son to be tempted by Satan?  For one, I believe it was to show Jesus’ humanity. He was tempted just as I am, understands my weakness and shows me how to overcome Satan’s lies with the truth of God’s Word.  

In this world, I face the dangerous draw of deception daily.  I must remain vigilant and not allow myself to be carried along in the seemingly unruffled current of the culture, drifting along in my boat of delusion, and ignoring the warning signs of danger ahead. There are times I will fail, but when I do, I repent of my sin and the Lord graciously forgives me again and again. He redirects my course away from danger and into the safety found in following him. 

Jesus is the truth, my promise keeper.  He enables me to walk in the truth of who I am in him, not as a deceiver, but a believer.  Just as Jesus has saved me from destruction and death, he will save you.  Admit your sin, lay it all down at the foot of the cross and receive his forgiveness.  Let him redirect your course as he did mine. Steep yourself in God’s Word. Anchor your life in the Savior. He will hold you fast.