Beware of Trojan horses both in the world and the church.
A food-borne parasite that infects domestic cats
can get inside the human brain by using white blood cells of the immune system
as a Trojan horse to enter the central nervous system where it may
cause behavioral changes. *
A Casanova woos a lady with a promise of
marriage. He showers her with expensive gifts and whispers sweet nothings in
her ears. Then, after gaining her trust, he asks her for money to settle his
debts. Completely besotted, the naïve lady, thrilled by the imminent sound of
wedding bells, gives him half her life savings.
Some ministers have
all the trimmings of religion but inwardly harbour an ambition for the world’s
goods. Their ethos is coloured by material comforts and well-being far above
spiritual considerations. These are the bad apples among the television
evangelists and larger-than-life ministers who manipulate or pressure people to
give to “God’s work”. They may have started out well but, along the way, got
bedazzled by the gleam of riches.
In the realm of IT, a Trojan horse is “a malicious application that masquerades as a
legitimate file or helpful programme but whose real purpose is, for example, to
grant a hacker unauthorised access to a computer”
(source: Wikipedia).
This Christmas we are reminded once again of
the evil King Herod who had a personal agenda when he told the wise men to look
for baby Jesus as he too would like to worship Him. In fact, he wanted to kill
the infant, perceiving Him as a threat to his kingship.
We should wise up by preparing ourselves against
deception. Jesus warns that deception will be a prominent feature during the
end times (Olivet Discourse, Matthew 24).
Believers have to be
wise – in fact, extremely vigilant and discerning – if they want to stand up
against deception in these last days.
Beware of those who
outwardly appear to be benevolent and kind but, in fact, have an ulterior
motive. For Trojan horses exist both in the world and the church.
FOOTNOTES:
Trojan
horse:
The Trojan horse
is a tale from the Trojan War about the subterfuge that the Greeks used to
enter the city of Troy and end the conflict. After a fruitless 10-year siege,
the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men
inside. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse
into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of
the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed
back under cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy,
decisively ending the war – (Source: Wikipedia).
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