Hoax.

Whether or not you are a sports fan, you probably got a fair dose of this word:

hoax

Whether it was Lance Armstrong answering to Oprah for a decade and a half of lying, cheating, and intentionally suing other people to maintain his lying and cheating or it was Manti Te'o revealing that his girlfriend that recently passed away not only did not pass away, but she didn't even exist.

I have plenty of opinions on both stories and what I think about the characters in these stories (for one I'd like to invite Armstrong over to lunch and ask him if he things he could ever make amends to all the people he's hurt in his life like he suggested at one point. I think receiving God's grace would make a much better solution to his situation. And for Te'o, I think he needs a friend, and an assuring word from his dad. But anyway...) it amazed me that such incredible degrees of deception have occurred on such a public stage.

There is a lot of evil in the world, and many many words to describe all the evils. But intentionally deceiving someone, or what we have been calling this past week a "hoax," is at the heart of the throne of satan. And I don't just say that to add drama. In Genesis 3 and Luke 4 we see satan in clear view, intentionally deceiving the likes of Adam, Eve, and Jesus. satan whispers half-truths, outright lies and deception in attempt to increase his own rule, his own kingdom. To what end? To be honest, i'm still not entirely sure. Does he want the attention? The authority? Is he just plain evil? I honestly couldn't tell you. But what I do know is that his plan and his hoax can be thwarted.

Colossians 1:12-14 says, "[God] has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness (or of satan) and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (emphasis by italicizing and parenthetical statements are mine.)

One of the promises of God is that He has delivered us from satan's rule, the "dominion of darkness," and brought us into His Son's kingdom, one of light. Light often represents truth, and the presence of God. And though i cannot guarantee that growing in your relationship with God will act like a force-field keeping us far from the efforts of deceptive people, I can promise that it means that we ourselves grow into people who despise deceiving others. This is why Jesus was so emphatic about maintaining our "yes to mean yes and our no, no" in Matthew 5:33-36, even including that "anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

Unfortunately, many have been deceived by those from within the church, and it's time for us to take our citizenship in the Kingdom of Light seriously from here on forward. And do not think for one second that you could never end up like Lance Armstrong, deceiving people to the (international) level that he has. That is the very step on a very slippery slope. The moment you think such a thing is the moment you allow yourself to have one foot in the kingdom of light and one in darkness.

I'll leave you with Psalm 37:3-6 and a last word:

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun."

Notice that our light increases as we dwell in the land (the kingdom of light, if you will), delight ourselves in Him (not in darkness), and commit our way to Him.

May your light grow like the dawn and its increasing light, all the way to the noonday sun.