Fools, Scammers and Liars call evil good to seek self-gratification without the constraint of God’s truth.

Calling evil good can be said in many different ways, but basically it is knowingly telling a lie about something that you know to be true. God does not like it when we lie as He is the God of truth. God values truth, knowledge, and honesty. When we lie we are at odds with God. Our lying demonstrates that we do not value truth, knowledge, or honesty.

All scams have some type of enticement that lures us into being scammed.
If there was no promise of reward or benefit, we would not entertain a scam.
It is the scam’s sweet lie that blinds us just enough for us to fall into the scammer’s trap.

Isaiah 5:20 gives us advice to not call evil good:“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

A Misleading Equivocation provides us a great example of how lies and deceptions can easily be taken as truth. Equivocation is a word seldom heard in our society, but it is practiced frequently by politicians and persons in authority who have no moral compass. Equivocation means “ambiguous expressions, especially in order to mislead or hedge”.

Many of us like to believe lies more than truth. We are enticed by what I call the “free money” syndrome. Many of us chase after free money at the casinos, playing the lottery, pyramid schemes, or “get rich” schemes. We end up surrounding ourselves with those who are wicked who will promise our heart’s desire. We place our hope in these empty promises, “yes men” and just plain lies, more than seeking God’s will for our lives.

Proverbs 29:12 advises us on those who like lies will surround themselves with those who are wicked. 
God desires all of us to prosper and at the same time add value to the world around us. If you obtain wealth through intimidation, deceit or scams, God will judge you. Ill-gotten gains will eventually lead to ruin. 

God blesses those that labor and produce real value and not to the scammers, the users, and slothful. Proverbs 13:11 warns us about ill-gotten gains.

Proverbs 13:11, “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.”

God desires for us to seek truth more than self-gratification. If you seek self-gratification more than truth, you will never be satisfied. When we seek self-gratification above truth, we will believe empty promises and we open ourselves to scams. We are “… carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive …”. Ephesians 4:15 advises on the importance of truth over deceit.

Ephesians 4:15, But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:”

Shepherd’s Do research on con artists and scams and have more information than you have time to read.

The definition of a con artist is a person who intentionally misleads another person for the sake of personal financial gain

As Micah the prophet warned, they dream up crimes while lying in bed and as soon as its morning light, they take off, full of energy to put their schemes into practice.  (Paraphrased; Micah 2:1) 


It’s one thing however to be a scam artist where people lose their money.  It’s another thing to be involved in  bottom corners of the Judicial Branch and the Legislative Branch – also called Congress: ignored scams where people lose both their money and their spiritual equilibrium.

The Apostle Paul instructs Titus in chapter 1 how to put the church in good, effective working order – it was paramount to find men to wear the mantle of the shepherd so that people would be led honestly and biblically in a genuine spiritual walk.  And so it’s little wonder that after giving the qualifications of an elder, Paul immediately reminds Titus and all the churches on the island of Crete that there are dangers on the island – and the primary danger is bound up in nothing less than con artists who were intent on scamming the church by teaching a mixture of truth and error.  Frankly, wherever the seeds of truth are sown, the seeds of deception will be close by.  There’s no such thing as a lawn or garden without weeds.  Those who serve as shepherds must not only sow the seeds of truth but pull out the seeds of dangerous deceptions and what Paul called in doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1) – that is, doctrines that seem orthodox and correct, but actually mislead someone and take them through the doors of religion and into the jaws of hell. 

So, Titus . . . you gotta be able to spot the lie – and expose the liars . . . and for that you need to select men who can do the same with spiritual discernment and courage. 

“And how convincing these false teachers are while keeping their true nature carefully concealed – even from themselves where the Lord Jesus will say, “I never knew you” – yet they deftly move on among the elect, up through the ranks of authority, and into positions of power. 

Lacking [biblical] truth, they win friends and influence people by means of a charisma that’s difficult to resist, even for those who despise falsehood. 

Nevertheless a trained eye can spot them.
So, just how do you spot the con artists?  

Titus will be given several characteristics of con artists in chapter 1.   

Go back to verse 9 as it sets the stage for the defensive role of a shepherd; Paul writes, Holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he (the elder/bishop/pastor) will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. 
So, if  those who contradict are the false teachers . . . then how do you spot them, Paul? 
Paul provides three descriptive characteristics of these men and women who lead flocks astray.  
At least one or more of these characteristics will be evident to those trained in the word and given the role of guarding the flock – and certainly the church at large should be trained as well. 

Three Characteristics of Con Artists: 
1. Here’s the first one: they are known as unaccountable personalities.
2. Secondly, they are also known by their empty promises. 
3. Thirdly, they are known as deceptive promoters. 

Paul spent most of his life battling these Judaizers – they were called.  They dogged his footsteps, subverted his converts, attacked his apostleship, challenged his authority, undermined his teaching, and distorted the gospel.xiv 

Paul wasn’t going to take it sitting down.  So he tells Titus in very strong words – verse 11, they’ve gotta be silenced.  The word for silenced literally means, “to muzzle” – to cover over their mouths.xv 

The present tense points to continuous action – which lets you know that a elder/shepherd is never off duty in watching for and being alert to and addressing false teaching.  Titus, these con artists need to be caught – and you catch them – you expose them – you silence them – not by literally gagging them, but by responding with the truth.  You answer with the truth.  


Paul gives us Two Results of Being Conned and Two things are happening here:
Number one, families are being turned upside down (v. 11) 
The word translated ‘upsetting’ is the same word used of Christ turning over the tables of the money changers in the temple (Matthew 21:12)    Everything was literally turned upside down. 
Number two, The personal bank accounts of the teachers were filling up. 
Paul writes, in verse 11 –they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they shouldn’t each, for the sake of sordid gain.  The preposition, “for the sake of” indicates that this is the goal of their activity.  This was the heart of their motivation for teaching and By the way, where sordid gain can certainly mean money, Paul uses it elsewhere for non-financial motivation – for social leverage, for power and prestige.

In other words, these teachers were more interested in what they could get out of people than what they could invest in people.  They might defend their lifestyles by saying that since they preach prosperity they above all others should live prosperously. 

It will never cease to amaze the Holy Spirit on what false teacher campaigners are willing to get out of the Bible and what followers of Christ will let them get away with.

Can’t they see the main message is all about money and prestige and material wealth and prosperity and temporary stuff is all that matters to float the nations boat? 

Some will have televised campaign advertisements that In fact, if you were to eliminate everything from their programs having to do with wealth and health and prosperity all you’d end up with is the opening music and the closing credits and nothing more than the spiritual con. 

Paul says to Titus, the flock is in constant danger of being misled and abused and fleeced – so once you find elders in the church, make sure they both build up the body, but also have the courage to take off the mask of the false teacher and speak up for the truth which will keep the flock on the right path.

Does Consciousness and Competence hold Shadows that are not easily runned away from?

Carl Jung ascribed the Root of Human Evil to "the Refusal to meet the Shadow."
By the Shadow Jung meant the part of out mind containing those things that we would rather not own up to, that we are Continually trying to hide from ourselves and others and sweep under the Rugs of our consciousness.
Most of us, when pushed up against the wall by evidence of our own Sins, Failures, or Imperfections will acknowledge our Shadow.

By the use of the word "Refusal," Jung was implying something far more active.

Those who have Crossed over The Line that separates Sin from Evil are characterized most by their Absolute Refusal to Tolerate a sense of their own sinfulness.

This is because their central Defect is not that they have no conscious but they Refuse to Bear it's Pain. In other words, it is not so much the sin itself but The Refusal to Acknowledge it that makes it Evil.

In fact, the evil are often highly intelligent people, who may be quite conscious in most respects but have a very specific unwillingness to acknowledge their shadow.
The briefest definition known is that it is "Militant Ignorance."

But Evil is not general ignorance; more specifically, it is Militant Ignorance of the Shadow.
Those who are evil refuse to bear the pain of Guilt or to allow the Shadow into Consciousness and "Meet" it.


Instead, they set about - often at great effort - militantly trying to destroy the evidence of their sin or anyone who speaks of it or represents it. And in this act of destruction, their Evil is Committed.

Has the apprentice returned in it's major new venture?

Guilt - although often viewed as a "Downer" - is in many ways a blessing.

Having a Genuine awareness of one's Shortcomings is what is often called a Sense of Person Sin.

It is not pleasant to be Aware of Oneself as a Naturally Lazy, Ignorant, Self-Centered being that rather Routinely betray its Creator, its Fellow Creatures, and Even its Own Best Interests.



Yet this unpleasant sense of personal failure and inadequacy is paradoxically the greatest blessing a human being can possess. 

Unpleasant though it may be, the gift of appropriate guilt is precisely what keeps our Sins from getting out of hand.

It is our most effective Safeguard against our own Proclivity for Evil.

Among the reasons for becoming more conscious is to avoid becoming Evil.
Fortunately, the truly Evil represents only a Minority of the human population. 

Yet lesser forms of psychological illness abound.

And although not evil, they too can reflect an Unwillingness to Meet Our Shadow.

Sigmund Freud compellingly wrote that there is often "Sinister" stuff lurking in the depths of the unconscious mind.
Traditional Freudian psychology has taught us that the causes of most psychological disorders stem from hidden feelings - anger, unacknowledged desire , and so on.
Because of this, psychological illness has been localized in the unconscious realm by most thinkers, as if the unconscious were the seat of psychotherapy, and symptoms were like subterranean demons that surface to torment the individual. Fortunately The Road Less Traveled holds the apposite view.

Psychological disorders are basically disorders of consciousness.
They are not rooted in the unconscious but in the Conscious Mind that Refuses to think and is unwilling to deal with certain issues, bear certain feelings, or tolerate pain.

These issues, feelings, or desires are in the unconscious only because a pain avoiding conscious mind has thrust them there. 
Of course voters assume that no incumbent walking around is so unhealthy that they are not at least slightly conscious.

And no one is so healthy that he/she is totally conscious.
There are innumerable degrees of consciousness, given that some people exert themselves more or less than others. But the degree of consciousness is inherently hard to measure.

Even with the tools for gauging mental health, through standard psychological testing, it is difficult to determine anyone's true level of consciousness. 
We can Speculate based upon Behavior but perhaps the best measure of someones degree of consciousness is best found in the Consistency of the general approach.

For Example, a person who is oriented more toward thinking "Simplistically" has a lesser degree of consciousness than ones who Think With Integrity.
In this way, thinking and consciousness are inextricably locked together in a parallel relationship.
Consciousness is the Foundation of all thinking, and thinking is the Foundation of all consciousness.
Anytime there is a Failure in Thinking, there is Corresponding Deficit in a persons level of consciousness. 

Thus, all human behavior - the good, the bad, and the indifferent - is determined by the Extent, or Lack therefore, OF THE QUALITY OF THINKING AND CONSCIOUSNESS INVOLVED.

General Voter therapy comes down to two distinctive arenas of thought with only one correct incumbent answer.
Where we appear stuck, there's no need for therapy because we will clearly grow well without it or where not growing remains stuck and spinning it's wheels compass conditions of Inefficiency red flags, common sense points to wherever there's a lack of efficiency there is potential for unnecessary lack of competence that will require election therapy?


Where free will always leaves this choice up to us, it generally never stops there where yet another reason to seek greater consciousness while highly overlooked contains remaining keys that could be readily found in proper Discernment of the Biblical Examen.

The Examen is the Foundation of mental and Spiritual Growth and it is through this growth that we as nation become ever more Competent in all affairs of the heart.
Share reference: M. Scott Peck, M.D. (Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety)

Could a Higher Power Far Greater Than All Utilize his Worst "Reprehensible" Birth Right 

as ultimate sacrifice potentiates the rest to take It's Redemption more Seriously?

What does “under God” mean: Is it a compliment, a challenge or Both as Unified One?

If we are “under” God, that would suggest that we want to do God’s will, and that might well involve a lot of study and prayer and national soul-searching. 

Instead of asking God to bless our particular political party or platform, we might need to determine God’s concerns, God’s values, God’s agenda, and build our platform on those.

Symbols are very important, but the values and ideals they point to are more important. Memorial Day, Flag Day, the Fourth of July; these summer holidays are good opportunities to ask ourselves whether “under God” lived out the ideals of liberty and justice for all?

To be a True Nation “under God,” involves generous measures of Humility. Nationalism and patriotism have their place, but they need to be “under God,” secondary to God or They become idolatrous where we assume that somehow God must always Grace one of his birth right tribes as a favored or country over the rest.

One Nation Under Government and Not Under God should remind all that our great Declaration of Independence is not only the proclamation of independence and sovereignty, but is also the official affirmation of our belief and faith in God. 

The Declaration asserts God’s existence as a “self-evident” truth, and states that the purpose of government is to secure our God-given unalienable individual rights.

The Declaration contains five references to God — God as Creator, God as the Source of all rights, God as supreme Lawmaker, God as the world’s supreme Judge, and God as our Protector.

It is our sacred responsibility to Duty Examine every doctrine.

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