In Genesis 3 we see Satan enter the scene for the first time in the Bible. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” (Genesis 3:1-5 NIV).
I learned that Satan uses his evil to trick us, and he often does this by weaving the lie with a morsel of truth. This causes us to easily be deceived. In this first trick, Satan convinces woman God is hiding something from them. He says they, too, can be like God. This first lie by Satan still holds true today. One of the greatest downfalls of man is the belief WE can do all things on our own. As opposed to the truth Christ later teaches us, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” and “…apart from me (Christ) you can do nothing.” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV; John 15:5 NIV/emphasis/parenthesis mine).
How do we keep from being deceived? Whether this is in news, on social media, or in the public, we must KNOW truth. If we do not know what God teaches, we will be misled by deceptively twisted misinformation, omitted facts, or blatant lies.