Thieves and Manipulators

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT)

A few years ago, we had a peculiar incident happen in our neighborhood. Since we live in a rural area, people are generally trusting--especially if someone looks vaguely familiar. A middle-aged lady from the nearby town went from house to house ringing doorbells. She would say she just happened to be in our neighborhood for some reason and asked if she could use our restroom. Most of us let her into our homes; we didn’t want to be rude. She would only be in the bathroom a few minutes, and then she politely thanked us and moved on. In a few days, we all figured out that she was stealing prescription painkillers. She was checking the medicine cabinets in our bathrooms for any pills we might have.

When we think of thieves, we imagine someone who looks dangerous, sneaking into our homes in the middle of the night. Most of my neighbors keep loaded guns in their homes. If they thought that their loved ones or their homes were in danger, they wouldn’t hesitate to defend themselves.  But all the guns and ammo can’t protect us if we allow manipulators into our lives. Those who are looking to exploit others are often skilled in the art of deception. They may seem harmless, helpless, and friendly. They may stroke your ego and find ways to make you feel comfortable around them. They let us believe that we are still in control--even while they are pushing our buttons and pulling our strings.

(Continued in the next post)