Almost scammed
I almost got scammed the other day. Of course, afterwards I realized how ridiculously stupid it was that I believed them in the least, but the thieves sounded legitimate and I had no reason to not believe them.
I was skeptical at first, but apparently someone was attempting to send me a package to my address (which they gave me). However, it was confiscated because it had drugs and cash in it. Homeland Security was going to arrest me if I didn’t cooperate. They said I could either get a lawyer and go down to Texas. Or I can choose to go the ADP route (whatever that was) where they verify which accounts are actually mine at zero cost to me. So clearly I said I’ll take the ADP route, and about an hour later, with lots of different conversations with people who identified themselves as different police enforcement department heads (I should have realized the guy with the heavy accent who’s last name was O’Connor was probably not legit, but I digress), they literally had convinced me to go to our bank.
As I drove to the bank, the man told me that all I had to do was withdraw all our cash out and just leave the minimum (how kind). I shouldn’t walk around with that money, though, so I needed to deposit it in an account that only I would know the code to. Wait, what? Yup, but no worries! It was all completely secure.
Well, at that point, I thought to myself, no way. This is insanity.
Not doing this
When I said I wasn’t cooperating, the man on the phone not only threatened me but proceeded to yell at me for not cooperating. He said the police were coming shortly. LORD help me. I then went to our local police department and explained the situation. As soon as I started explaining everything, I realized how dumb it was that I believed these men. And my word, I was so thankful that I stopped the nonsense when I did.
The last couple of years…
I share with all of you this story because it’s amazing to me how easily we can get scammed. And this is true, even when we aren’t easily deceived. Which made me think how aspects of the last two years have been a similarly grave deception. We were told we were all in danger, and needed to self-isolate, even those who were otherwise healthy. OK. That’s weird since we’ve never had to do that before, but OK. Then we were told we couldn’t get near anyone because God forbid, the germs can get you if you’re closer than 6 feet. Again, strange for an airborne virus, but OK. What do I know? I’m no doctor. Clearly they know better. And then it was the masking. We don’t want to kill grandma, right? We must protect the vulnerable.
What’s “funny” is that when you made the smallest effort to research how viruses are studied, you’d quickly find out that those scientists who study viruses have literal HAZMAT bodysuits on for protection. How was a cloth mask that you can still smell through, going to protect us from the deadly disease? But yet again, what do I know? Right?
And lest we forget, the biggest scam of all – the va((ines. With zero long term studies for efficacy and safety, literally millions of people around the world rolled up their sleeves in full submission to the powers that be. Many of us took into our bodies what they thought was something for their own protection. Sort of like me rolling into the bank, ready to open up our bank account, take out some of our funds, and then deposit them in some random account. Seriously, what in the world have we been thinking?
Fear is a liar
The thing is, fear can not only be paralyzing, but it can cloud our thinking. All we want is relief from the fear. And just like my attempted scam, there are clearly people out there ready to conjure up fear, in order to offer us the easy solution we so desperately want (sidenote – I realize that many people have suffered with C0VID, and I’m not attempting to downplay the realities of how deadly this was for some people. However, judging from not only the statistics of 99.9% survival for the majority of people as well as medications that were banned from use that would have saved thousands if not, millions, it’s difficult not to see the situation as nefarious).
Naive
I think what a huge problem is, is that we have been so naive. Here in the United States, we have been quite sheltered from the realities of people constantly living in fear of those in authority over them, who are never held accountable. However, the reality of wickedness and the hunger for money, power, and control are very real. There are those who have no shame, and will relentlessly try to scam you for what they want. We must be discerning and firm in Truth.
Often in the past, those that had the wisdom to see evil and wickedness for what it was, were marginalized and/or ignored. I can think of Bonhoeffer, vehemently and repeatedly warning of the danger of Hitler and the Nazi regime. But even other Christian leaders refused to see the evil staring them right in their faces. Some thought they could convert Hitler, and hopefully change his mind by playing along with his plans. Others thought they should just stay quiet until this storm blew through. How horribly wrong they all were.
We must remember that “…God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). We desperately need courage, discernment, and wisdom to navigate this cultural moment. And this not just with respect to C0VID, but on a multitude of things such as, for example, “What is a woman?” That is why we must fill our minds with Truth, and our Spirit with God’s Word. The enemy is not out to play for compromise. He’s out to conquer, at whatever cost.
Friends, remember to learn from first, God’s Word, and second, the wisdom of others. History may not always exactly repeat itself, but it sure as anything rhymes. Father God, give us eyes to see and ears to hear.
