At one time I worked for a company where my duties included doing the daily deposit. One day a man paid for his $300 purchase in cash. It wasn’t until the Secret Service showed up that I became aware that those fifteen twenty dollar bills were counterfeit. Even after I was assured they were bogus, I could not tell that they were not real. I asked the agent how to recognize a counterfeit. His reply was, “You study the real thing!” The best counterfeits are the ones that look most like the real thing, but everyone has a flaw. They constantly change; however, the real thing remains the same. The more you know the real thing, the quicker you are able to spot inconsistencies and protect yourself in the future.
Satan is the ultimate counterfeiter. He has perfected the art of deception. If we expect to recognize him by watching for signs of his evil nature, we are going to be deceived. That he tends to hide. Instead he looks like whatever we desire most, wrapped in the most alluring possible package.
Satan didn’t show up in the Garden of Eden as some hideous snake. He was subtle, graceful, attractive and distractive. He was smooth in his approach, and Eve didn’t see it coming. He took what she desired most and dangled it in front of her. She wanted something to eat, to be wise, and to be like God, whom she loved. These desires are just fine and all she had to do was ask God for them. He would have fed her, trained her in godly wisdom, and taught her about Himself so that she could incorporate His character into her life. However, Satan offered her a counterfeit – a way to reach godly goals and fulfill godly desires in an ungodly way. He offered to give them to her NOW! In the lure of instant gratification she didn’t take the time to realize that he was not offering her the real thing.
There is an agenda behind His counterfeit schemes. Satan wants what God has or should have. He wants our attention. What we set our hearts on – the focus of our mind and energy - becomes our god. Ultimately, he wants our worship. He dangles a way to be powerful or better or have it easier. He lures with the “what” to the point we forget what really matters is the “how.” He wants our allegiance. He wants us under his control and influence. He offers us our desires through compromise to get it.
Paul was “afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, our minds may somehow be led astray from our sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (v.5) It is a valid fear. We need to know how to protect ourselves from Satan’s counterfeit. Satan is incapable of perfection. His counterfeits always have a flaw. We have to know the REAL THING to see it. We need to know Jesus – who He is, what He does, and how He consistently acts to recognize when we are being offered shortcuts that shortchange us, Christ and the kingdom of God. We need to know the truth in order to recognize counterfeit.
Making It Personal
What do you think it means that Satan looks like an “angel of light”?
Can you identify any of his favorite disguises or tactics he uses?
… in our culture.
… in churches.
… in your life.
In Matthew 4:1-11, Satan counterfeited truth in an attempt to tempt Jesus. What can you learn from Jesus’ response regarding how to handle such attempts against you?
Through the Day Challenge
As you go through the day, be on the look out for both the real thing and counterfeit. How did you know which was which?
