Are You Being Duped?

Are you being duped?
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Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)

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Satan wants to dupe us into giving up the best for something that will in the end, at best, simply benefit us nothing. At worst, it will destroy us.

Have you seen the movie Catch Me If You Can ? It’s a match of wits between a con artist and the FBI agent who eventually catches him. It’s based on the life of Frank Abagnale, who, before his 19th birthday, successfully performed cons worth millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, a Georgia doctor, and a Louisiana parish prosecutor. Oh the tricks this con artist pulls! Watch this first clip. The pilot is the con artist. Handratty is the FBI agent.  All those other men in dark suits? More FBI agents looking for the con artist!

How does this young con artist keep duping everyone? Watch this next clip and see if you can catch it.

Maybe you already figured it out watching the previous clip.  

 

Nobody can keep their eyes off the pinstripes.

 

Make no mistake. Satan is a con artist and this is a common tactic of his. He keeps us busy with the unimportant. With the petty. With our offenses. With our opinions. With our hurts. With our entertainment. With our religious good. With our debt. With our attempts to keep up with the neighbors. With our attempts to numb our pain. With our attempts to find a soul mate. With our attempts to save enough money to retire. And much more.

Our eyes get pulled away from the finish line and we cash in our heavenly 401K for an earthly experience. 

Some of the stripes in this world are neutral. Some are even good. But if they keep our eyes on the wrong thing. If they keep us from finishing our race well. If they keep us from relationship with Jesus. Then they aren’t just stripes and you’re being conned.

Are you being duped? What kind of stripes do you have a hard time keeping your eyes off  

About Angela D. Meyer

Angela D. Meyer writes fiction that showcases God’s ability to redeem and restore the brokenness in our lives. She is the author of This Side of Yesterday, The Jukebox Cafe (a part of Hope is Born: A Mosaic Christmas Anthology) and the Applewood Hill series. Angela is a member of American Christian Fiction Authors and has served on the leadership team of her local writers’ group, Wordsowers. Angela currently lives in NE with her husband. They have two children, both of whom they homeschooled and graduated. Lucy, a green eyed, orange tabby, who loves popcorn rounds out their family. Angela enjoys sunrises and sunsets, the ocean when she gets a chance to visit, and hopes to ride in a hot air balloon someday.

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