Watch Out for Scams—Two2Grow, Tuesday, October 6
Watch Out for Scams—Two2Grow, Tuesday, October 6
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. Genesis 3:4 NIV
We are surrounded by scams, research suggests. We are bombarded by scam emails, AI-generated social media posts, phone calls, fake advertisements, and so on.
I remember the first scam email that I got about 20 years ago, which told me that a wealthy military general in Africa had died and left me a million-dollar inheritance—all because he had found out that I was doing missions work. I was super excited about all that could be done with that money. The excitement didn’t last long. I shared the news with my brother (who has a PhD in law), who immediately popped my balloon of innocence. I was disappointed. (Writing this now, I can’t even understand why I believed the email in the first place. But it was my first encounter with that kind of scam email).
The devil is the world’s biggest scammer. The first scam in history took place when the serpent deceived Eve in Eden, and he has continued ever since.
As Christians, we are called to walk in love, and yet that doesn’t mean we should be gullible. What we need is love coupled with discernment and wisdom: to pray about all things that come our way, to discern what God’s will is, and to talk about what is going on with people we trust. The devil wants to keep things in the dark. And as someone said, “If it is too good to be true, it probably is.”
Scams usually work because they resonate with a deeper desire in us. The best way to be scam-safe is to let the Lord purify our desires and ambitions. For example, a get-rich-quick scheme seldom works on a person who is content with what they have. The devil’s scam worked on Eve because it appealed to her desire (Genesis 3:6).
Father, I thank you that you are a God of truth. Purify my heart so that my desires line up with yours. Guide me in this fallen and dark world and protect me from scams of all kinds. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD
We are surrounded by scams, research suggests. We are bombarded by scam emails, AI-generated social media posts, phone calls, fake advertisements, and so on.
I remember the first scam email that I got about 20 years ago, which told me that a wealthy military general in Africa had died and left me a million-dollar inheritance—all because he had found out that I was doing missions work. I was super excited about all that could be done with that money. The excitement didn’t last long. I shared the news with my brother (who has a PhD in law), who immediately popped my balloon of innocence. I was disappointed. (Writing this now, I can’t even understand why I believed the email in the first place. But it was my first encounter with that kind of scam email).
The devil is the world’s biggest scammer. The first scam in history took place when the serpent deceived Eve in Eden, and he has continued ever since.
As Christians, we are called to walk in love, and yet that doesn’t mean we should be gullible. What we need is love coupled with discernment and wisdom: to pray about all things that come our way, to discern what God’s will is, and to talk about what is going on with people we trust. The devil wants to keep things in the dark. And as someone said, “If it is too good to be true, it probably is.”
Scams usually work because they resonate with a deeper desire in us. The best way to be scam-safe is to let the Lord purify our desires and ambitions. For example, a get-rich-quick scheme seldom works on a person who is content with what they have. The devil’s scam worked on Eve because it appealed to her desire (Genesis 3:6).
Father, I thank you that you are a God of truth. Purify my heart so that my desires line up with yours. Guide me in this fallen and dark world and protect me from scams of all kinds. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD