Patron Saint of a Happy Death, Saint Joseph
The Lies and Deceit before the Fall
Eileen Renders
We have all sinned, lied, and purposely deceived people because we felt it was to our advantage. We have confessed our sins and hopefully, sincerely promised God not to sin again. Some lies are harmless and hurt no one; other lies, however, can cause great harm to others, and we should “think before we speak” to recognize when we are tempted to lie.
Speaking of lies and deceiving others, we would be wise to recognize when we are being lied to, and deceived into believing there is no harm in that, and we are not hurting anyone.
The Evil One wants nothing more than to deceive us, and make false promises telling us that the sin he tempts us to do is hurting no one, and will bring us great satisfaction. He knows that by working toward keeping us in a habitual state of sinfulness, he is succeeding in keeping us at a distance from the forgiveness and grace of our Creator.
Satan (the Evil One) has many names he has been called in the bible, including: Roaring Lion, The Tempter, The Serpent, Murderer, and Beelzebub. But the title he holds most with the largest black crown is “The Father of Lies.”
His lies can send us down the wrong path; he deceives us, and we must not forget why: it is to war with Christ and hurt Him through our betrayal. When we allow ourselves to listen to the Father of Lies, we are deceived, disobeying Christ, and without grace, and this can set us up for “The Fall.” None of us has been told the day or the hour when our time is up here on earth. We do not know when we must stand before God and be judged. We know we will be held accountable, and our destiny is heaven or hell.
Knowing how this occurs in the lives of all of us, we must be vigilant and recognize the evil one when he comes to us and tempts us through lies and false promises. Staying attuned to his wickedness, as soon as he begins to whisper in our ear, this is when we quietly call out to our God and tell Him to help us keep Satan at a distance, as we are not interested in anything he has to say to us. Tell God we love Him, and only Him.
Remember, the closer we come to Jesus, the deeper our relationship with Him, the more Satan persists in working toward breaking our relationship with Him.