Deception is an evil “pandemic” [infectious spiritual disease] spreading across the world. COVID, as a pandemic, involved deception, but was never as deadly or as far-reaching. The biblical definition of deception is the intentional misleading or beguiling of another person(s) for the sake of control or harm. It’s an evil Jezebel spirit that is void of the Truth and feeds on manipulating the actions and thoughts of others through corrupting lies. Discernment is essential to avoid deception and spiritual discernment only comes with obedience to Christ and his commands.
So, it all comes down to the spiritual seeds a person sows and the fruit a person produces, because to live in the Truth means people emulate the righteous character of Christ and honor God’s commands. A deceiver cannot reveal righteous standing with God; his or her thoughts and actions are dishonoring toward God’s Word while indulging, pleasing, and manipulating people. We should not be surprised by this consuming deception, because Jesus, as the Word of God, already told us the Truth and what to expect from human flesh, the devil, and the world (Matt Ch 24).
Everyday human beings have the freedom to sow one of two kinds of seeds into a spiritual realm that affects the destiny of the human soul: the Good Seed (God’s Word in action) or the evil seed (corruption in action). God tells us we will reap what we sow and even the devil knows this to be true. Therefore, the devil seeks to deceive people so they will sow his evil seed into the unrighteous soil of this fallen world and produce evil that separates them from God.
In our passage today, the Apostle Paul reminds the Galatians (and us) that we are workers in God’s Vineyard and we are planting spiritual seeds of some kind everyday. As individuals we will answer to God and reap a harvest from the seeds we have chosen to sow. Stay in the Word of God and avoid the deception governing this selfish and self-serving world. Do not believe everything you hear; the devil corrupts words to produce sin. Instead, make sure you are aligned with the principles and commands of God; he is the holy Standard. Ask the Spirit to reveal to you the things that are righteous in God’s perspective. Then, sow Good Seed to reap a blessing from the Lord!
Galatians 6:1-10 NLT We Harvest What We Plant
1 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
6 Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.
7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for being our holy Standard and helping us to discern the truth from lies. Only you know the heart of every individual, Lord, so we refuse to stand in a place to judge others. We do want our choices and the seeds we sow to exalt your great name, further your Kingdom, and produce righteousness in us. Therefore, we seek the Spirit to guide us so the harvest in our lives is holy. In Jesus’ name. Amen.