Distractions & the Long Con

You know how there are no clocks in the Vegas Casinos? Or at least none in view of the patrons feeding their money into slot machines or the games.

The reason for that (or so I've heard) is because the Casino bosses don't want patrons to be aware of how much time is passing. I've been in casinos and I always felt like I had stepped out of real life and into a world of  make believe. You can pretend you are in another country or time period. I visited one casino where all the staff were dressed up in togas and centurion costumes. It was silly and fascinating at the same time.

I've seen other explanations for casino designs, but I still think the moneymakers in Vegas are maybe being a little bit devious. Yeah. Just a little bit...

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For some reason, I was thinking about that just now. Then I started thinking how, sometimes, the best way to distract someone is not by directing their attention to something in particular, but away  from something else.


I was also thinking about something I once heard or read: "The most gainful con is a long con."

Satan is the originator of the long con, and he's certainly the master of distraction and deceit. If we look at our way of life today and compare it to various points in history, we can see how this con has worked. Think about the general mindset a lot of us have about certain things:

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• We believe it's better to "work smarter" instead of working harder. Certain jobs are considered "beneath" us, and some people would rather not work at all than to take one of these jobs.
• It's not enough for most of us that we simply have food, clothing and shelter. We want the best food, expensive clothes and a house that we can show off. 
• Appearance is more important to us than substance or quality. We apply this to people, homes, clothes, cars, etc.
• We rarely see anything as being definitively right or wrong. We shade everything gray by using words and phrases like "choice", "individual rights", "perspective", and so on. And if anyone dares to call something right or wrong, they are labelled as bigots, phobics, prudes, nuts, or as not progressive or "keeping up with the times".
• Having choices only works if the majority of society (those who have kept up with the times) agrees that your choice is politically correct or socially acceptable. This, by the way, is a big part of the Enemy's long con. If something is basically good, but becomes polluted or abused by a few people, the rest of us are willing to throw out the good with the bad.
• People who choose to believe in the Bible are dismissed as being crazy and needing the crutch of faith, while people who put their faith in other things are thought of as steadfast and loyal. 

As for that last point, I'm always frustrated about it. For one example: a science fiction writer wrote a book out of which came a religion, a church, and worldwide admiration for a lot of the followers. My faith didn't come out of the birth of a book but out of the birth of the Messiah Jesus, but I'm the nut? 

All of this makes me consider what Isaiah 5:20 says:

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

The Enemy uses anything he can to distract us: our grief, heartache, fear, desire and a need to feel included, plus so many other things. I just went through a struggle with grief, and I know someone who is right now going through a period of heartache. She hasn't accepted Christ yet and you can bet that Satan is working overtime in her situation.

Where I can see us getting lost in those temporary struggles I just mentioned, I can't help but be surprised that so many Christians are falling for Satan's overall con game. It's not like we weren't warned about it in the Bible.

When I used to watch scary teen movies, I could pick out which of the victims of the killer would be first to go. My friends and I would joke that we would never do the stupid things the victims did: walk into the dark woods alone, open the door to strangers when there is a mad killer on the loose.

It just amazes me that fellow Christians who read and believe in the Bible are a lot like those victims in movies. They never spot the signs of a false prophet or they will fall for blatantly unscriptural teachings. Or we will do something that we should know we've been advised not to.

There are people who know the Bible like they know their name, but they will get involved with practices of other religions and never think about it. Christians are even practicing Yoga in churches. Some Christians don't see how it's wrong to practice things like Eastern meditation, visit psychics or mediums, "ghost hunt", and so on. Many people see nothing wrong with combining faiths - Christianity with Hinduism or Scientology or Voodooism.

I know that I have done (and probably still do) things that were advised against in the Bible, but I did/do them out of ignorance. Once I realize my error though, I'm done with whatever it is. This is why it's important for us to fellowship and "exhort" one another in one is right according to the Word of God.



But Satan is a master of deception and where he can't blind us to things, he will surely try to delude us. He's a bit of a illusionist and he can goad us to create excuses and rationalizations for our sins to the point we won't believe we are even sinning.

The main thing he does to keep us blind or deluded? Keeping us turned away from the Bible. If we don't read it and study it and pray on it, we won't ever take the blinders off. I know that I am still blind to some things, and I am praying that God always show me what I need to see for truth.

Peace
--Free