Do You Open Spiritual Spam?

There it was: the warning that my antivirus program had not been renewed. The email address looked official, like it could have come from the company that sales the program I use. The date showed the email was sent around the time when my new subscription should have started. And there, maybe two lines below that email, was another with the same company name. This older email acknowledged the fact that my program subscription had in fact been renewed.

I can only guess at what the sender of the spam email was attempting to do. I deleted without opening, sparing myself any possibility of falling prey to an attempt at fishing. Most likely I would have deleted even if I did not have the older email. Having confirmation of the renewal allowed me to hit delete with confidence. If only I had this confidence when dealing with spam as it comes from the spiritual realm.

Like my conflicting emails, Christians receive conflicting messages on a daily basis. On one hand we have the Bible full of truth and wisdom, given to instruct us on how to live godly lives. On the other hand we have the messages that come from the world, often speaking against biblical teaching. We see both and must decide which to follow.

Spiritual spam is attractive, giving the impression of offering more than we might get by obeying God. It pops up leaving us with a choice while causing doubt about the validity of what we read in the Bible. And just like email spam, spiritual spam (better known as temptation) can become a link to all sorts of hidden destruction.

We know the truth. Yet so often we choose the lie. So here is a challenge for every believer. Choose the truth. Stay far away from the spam. In Christ this is possible. Are you willing?