“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8 ESV
Reflection: why did Paul give the early church such strong warnings about being deceived?
We probably all like to think that we are not easily manipulated. That we have a pretty good handle on what is true, and what is false. And in a way, we have built up a structure of what the world around us looks like. It is built on our own experience, on the experience of what others we trust have told us. And perhaps certain people and organizations of authority. Might be school, government, news, or whatever. But sometimes we learn that we have been fooled. I mean, someone we trusted has actually deceived us. And it can be pretty devastating to learn this, difficult to accept that first, why they would do such a thing, and second, how we didn’t catch on. It actually can feel somewhat embarrassing to be fooled by someone.
So what is “deception” anyway? It is actually an old word, which tells us that this concept is nothing new, defined in Webster as “the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid”. Which means, we probably all have done this, at some point. But when we start thinking about the source of where this is coming from, the desire to deceive someone, as followers of Jesus Christ we should get very scared. Let’s think of a simple example. You are at the grocery store picking up a few things. A bit in a hurry, trying to remember what was important to get. And when you get to the register to pay, you receive a text saying “Did you remember eggs?” You look down in your cart, eggs are missing. You quickly step out of line, run back to the dairy section and pick up the eggs. And you text back “Yes”. Now, you might say, this is “splitting hairs”, but in reality you are giving the impression that you remembered the eggs, although you didn’t. You could have responded “No, but getting them now.” Or something like that.
Perhaps you responded yes to not creating an argument later. But it is still wrong. You are giving the other person the impression that you remembered. A simple, perhaps silly example, but I think we all need to check ourselves to live in the light, in all our actions. To be truthful in everything we do. Paul is warning the church in Colossi about not being fooled, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit”. Of course he is talking about something much more important than being fooled over remembering eggs. But it is the same idea, same fundamental principle of deception. Notice carefully here where he says the ideas and deception comes from, according to human tradition, according to the
elemental spirits of the world,
and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8 ESV. Do we realize that these powers, the “human traditions”, and “elemental spirits of the world”, are at work all around us? They are spirits, even trying to deceive us today?? If you think about the simple example of giving the impression that you remembered the eggs, where is this desire coming from? Certainly not from God. And if we can fool someone with such a simple thing, we understand how some can be tempted to deceive others with much bigger things, important things, when it really matters. Like at work, being manipulative for a raise or promotion. Or in relationships, manipulating perception through social media or conversations. Or, as Paul was very concerned, manipulating others faith and beliefs in God.
So what does this mean to us today? First of all, as mentioned, we must strive, labor to be truthful in all we do and say, even when the cost to us is high. Second, we must be aware of the powers at work all around us, perhaps most importantly wanting to pull us away from our faith and promises in Jesus Christ. We read from an old book, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverbs 9:10 ESV.