Think Again!

Chapter 3: Con Artists and Rodents • 39

Perhaps the most well-known scheme used today is where the con artist sends an email, portraying herself as a distraught family member, caught overseas without funds. The con artist asks a grandmother or uncle to wire money to a foreign account that will presumably rescue the suffering family member. But the funds are actually routed to the con artist’s bank account, never to be seen again. Personalized Cons Paul said to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” and to “no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes .” (Eph. 6.11, 4.14). The word “schemes”refers to the craft of a con artist through a fixed dice game , a gambling scheme where the mark greedily pursues quick return. But the confidence man has weighted the dice to roll in a predictable pattern that benefits the con artist. The mark ends up voluntarily relinquishing his money to the con artist. In the same way, we are instructed to be aware of the deceiver’s schemes, his confidence artistry. He sizes us up and designs a targeted scheme, a personal con to rob us of our possessions. While God invests in a slow, long-term return on investment, the devil tries to trick us into “get-rich-quick” gambling schemes. Since the deceiver cannot rob us at gunpoint, cannot harm us without God’s permission, and cannot take away our salvation in Christ, the best he can do is trick us into voluntarily discarding our riches. He knows we have a rich inheritance through Jesus Christ that is untouchable by his hands. But he also knows that if he tricks us, we might voluntarily exchange our joy, confidence, or trust in God for short-term popularity, success, or pleasure.