Richard Turner is the G.O.A.T. card sharp. On his YouTube videos, Turner seems to shuffle and deal card in a normal, straight-forward way. But he is deceptively controlling every single card being dealt. With each shuffle, Turner is arranging the cards to his liking. Then, instead of dealing from the top of the deck, Turner can easily and deceivingly deal the second card from the top of the deck or any other card he chooses from the middle or bottom of the deck without being noticed. Turner has honed his skills with more than 150,000 hours of practice over five decades. While Turner mostly uses his skills for entertainment, he has demonstrated his card manipulation talents in other ways. People have tried to beat Turner by cutting a higher card from the deck. Most people give up after losing a dozen or so times in a row. A world-class card counter once bragged to a casino that his blackjack system would always win. Turner was the dealer as this expert demonstrated his system. Over two hours the expert did not win a single hand.
Audiences allow magicians to deceive and fool them for entertainment and amusement. But spiritual deception is a serious danger we must recognize and resist. If we consider Satan’s many names, we can better understand this enemy, his allies, and their schemes. In God’s Word, Satan is referred to as a deceiver, an accuser, the evil one, a liar, a murderer, the power of darkness, a slanderer, a tempter, and the wicked one. The Devil has earned these names by honing his ability to deceive, to foster doubts, and to separate people from God since the days of Adam and Eve.
We can also be deceived by others. Sometimes the deception is knowing and intentional; other times it is inadvertent or careless. Either way, the spiritual damage is real. Our friends, neighbors, family, co-workers, and enemies can say things or do things that make us doubt God’s goodness and lovingkindness, or to weaken our trust in His promises. We should raise our defenses when someone finds a new interpretation of God’s Word or argues for disobeying a clear Biblical teaching.
Perhaps worst of all is that we can deceive ourselves. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” (Jeremiah 17) “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14) We need faithful brothers and sisters, and godly spiritual leaders to keep us on the straight and narrow path that leads to godliness and life.
We must be prepared to recognize and resist spiritual deception in all its forms and from all its sources. We are never too old to heed the words of the children’s song, “be careful little eyes what you see … be careful little ears what you hear … be careful little heart who you trust…” Thankfully the Holy Spirit guides us away from spiritual deception and into all truth. (John 16) And we have been promised a wonderful future when there will be no more deception or sin of any kind. (Revelation 20)