Back when cartoons were hilarious, the villainous character would be leaning against a building just inside a dark alley watching for unsuspecting people. Once he found that "patsy", (as they would call them), he'd take the tooth pick out of his mouth and with a throaty voice speak the title of this entry then a head wag for the said "patsy" to come toward his direction to get the something he doesn't want anyone else to hear and for the "patsy" not to miss out on. It is always an item that would benefit the skulking character for the "patsy" to purchase it. It is why it has to be a secret so no one would be the wiser and convince the "patsy" when it is almost always a scam.
From insider trading to purchasing a prime piece of land a stone's throw away from swamp territory and everything in between. It is up to the buyer to do his/her due diligence with a proper investigation in order to make a quality decision to invest or not. There have been one too many times where I have had this discussion with clients so giddy to be in their own home. They assume the person selling them the property doesn't have any ulterior motives. Afterwards, I receive pictures of cracks in the foundation that is followed through out the property or chalky lines along the baseboards of the basement indicative of water issues. After the fact are woes that could have been avoided.
This is also true in relationships. Not just the ones that are eventually walking down the aisle saying the
vows that end until death do you part, but the kinds that deal in business, friendships, social gatherings, meeting people for the first time and the like. For the most part, the best thing to do when meeting for the first time is stay quiet and read the space that you are in. People give themselves away in a few hours. It's not hard, if you have practiced patience. There are those that only have the intentions to be leeches; whether it is to gain information from someone or constantly needing to borrow because they never have enough or has learned what to say to be convincing. The half truth tellers are those that don't like being called liars because they did articulate a portion of the truth (
John 8:44 AMP). The tiny bit that was kept from being heard, was intentional. There was an intent to deceive, the very definition of a liar. The manipulator is a combination of a leech and a liar with some smooth talking skills to make it all pretty (
Matthew 24:4-5 AMP). It's like taking some poop, putting it in a box, wrapping it up with a bow so that the unsuspecting party believes he/she is really getting something nice. The description kind of reminds you of some relationships you have had, doesn't it?
Why would anyone want to do this to anyone else? What happened to the golden rule?
It reminds me of the verse, the poor you will always have (Matthew 26:11 AMP). Who do you think the gospel was referring? He wasn't talking about the unbeliever. Pause and think on that calmly. If there was ever a verse that is frustrating down to your toes, it is that one. Why would we always have the poor? Because sin is cyclical. God told the previous generation to tell of the mistakes of your forefathers so that the mistakes would not be repeated (Joel 1:1-3 AMP). Did that happen? Today, the older is supposed to tell the younger because the older generation would want the best for the next generation. Does that happen? In the last days, the Word tells us Mother against daughter and father against son (Luke 12:51-53 AMP). The result is that the poor continues. The good from that is, giving to the poor is as of lending to the Lord (Proverbs 19:17 AMP). Selah.
There was a young married couple getting their new family settled in their new home. Going to the grocery store, the young woman came upon a man asking for any spare change. The young woman opened her wallet with barely enough to purchase her groceries, but gave what she had aside from her grocery money to the man asking. When her husband knew of what his young wife had done, he verbally reprimanded her for giving when they were barely scraping by. This couple believes and walks in the admonition of the Lord. What do you believe the appropriate thing to do if you knew the spare change was about $1.35? What is your answer based on (Acts 20:35 AMP)?
Always remember there are varying levels of maturity. Just because your integrity and moral standard is how you have been walking to the point where you don't think about it anymore, everyone else may or may not be there yet. The golden rule was a direction for public knowledge. Believers hope that people can not only reiterate the verse, but walk it out daily too. The Word is like a sieve that separates the lumps from the useable product. Can God use you or are you the character waiting for the gullible and unsuspecting while calling yourself a Christian?
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