I grew up thinking I could spot a con. A smooth talking, rapid, too good to be true pitch could, I believed, be spotted by a street smart, open minded, man of the world; someone like myself. I was confident. I knew my time on India’s streets, bargaining in the markets, and reading had prepared me for what the world would try to do. I would never be conned. I would never be swayed by half truths and lies.
Decades later I see a world with colors as well as grays. My confidence has been replaced by an awareness that the person most often deceiving me is myself. I see how I believe what I believe. I watch myself strive only to follow an easy road to regret and despair. The world is full of cons, yet the greatest danger is the one I invite without thought or reflection.
It not easy to spot. As one conversation unfolded I found myself going to the destination Evil had in mind; “Be reasonable. Face the facts: My master the king of Assyria will give you two thousand horses if you can put riders on them. You can't do it, can you? So how do you think, depending on flimsy Egypt's chariots and riders, you can stand up against even the lowest-ranking captain in my master's army? And besides, do you think I came all this way to destroy this land without first getting God's blessing? It was your God who told me, Make war on this land. Destroy it.” (Isaiah 36.8-10)
I don’t have the answers, for your life or mine. I do have some simple advice which helps in my life.
Be sure you know your home, family, and God..
Knowledge only comes with time, lots of engaged time. It isn’t just head knowledge, it is heart.
Hope comes from and with experience. It is not sustained by a single shot.
Great living comes from in being with God, family, and self for extended period of time, which then gives birth to experiential Hope.
