Thought for the Day

Verse 12 - Today's verses characterize the charlatan. A "perverse mouth" belongs to a "slick talker." Many slick talkers lie convincingly to cheat others out of their money through scams and dishonest operations. Many evil people prey on Christians because they are good-hearted. I have even heard wicked men say that Christians are gullible and believe anything. We should ask the Lord to help us discern when someone is trying to cheat us so that we will not be taken advantage of. We should not allow ourselves to be pressured into giving or buying something without first asking the Holy Spirit to guide us.

The Bible warns of charlatans; false prophets that pretend to be Christians. Just because one comes in Jesus' name does not guarantee that he is truly His. "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:15-20). The Lord instructs us to examine someone's fruit to discern who he is really serving. Some good questions are: Would Jesus act this way? Would He do this? If he does not behave in a godly manner, he is, at best, not walking in the Spirit; at worst, he is an emissary of the devil.

Verse 13 - A charlatan might use a lot of body language to express himself. He will often work with partners whom he signals by certain actions to cheat people. This is seen many times in gambling halls and casinos. Christians should not go to these places unless called there by God to share the Gospel. Gambling is a sin which can lead to an addiction that brings much loss and destruction. The Bible tells us we are to live by faith, not by chance or luck.

Verses 14-15 - Wicked men sow discord and mischief among their acquaintances. They will, in the end, be overtaken and broken by calamity. Calamity will come suddenly and unexpectedly; there will be no way out of it or any remedy for it. We must ask the Lord to keep us from getting involved with people of this sort, and from falling into gambling or any other trap that would allow the enemy to rob us.