As a Christian Life Coach and a policeman, one of the worst villains to me is the "Con-man”. I have seen the hurt and pain brought about by such despicable people. Yet these Con-men are so slick at what they do, that many people do not realize that they are being trapped by a lie. These are the sort of people who would take the last dime of a poor grand-mother and never think twice about it. These Con-men also destroy the ethics and personal character of their victims, with no more regard - than if they where stealing their victims last dime.

The term con-man comes from the words - confidence man. It is a person that uses lies to gain your confidence. In short they are swindlers, who use deception and persuasive speech to get people to part with their money, valuables, property, etc. Con-men usually weave their deceptions around just enough truth to make things sound good to their potential victims. They are often both polished in their appearance and personable. Their half-truths and likeability readily gain them entry to their victim's wealth. By the time their victims find out that they have been swindled, it is often too late and the confidence man was long gone with their wealth.

Con-men also play upon the needs and hopes of their victims in order to extract money or riches from them. For example, many prey upon the elderly who need extra income. The con-artist tells them that with wise investments, you can increase your retirement account. While it is true that with wise investments, one can increase their retirement account, the con-man has no plans to give out wise counsel. Many of these crimes go unreported, because the victim is too ashamed to tell someone.

It is not only our wealth and property that are targeted by swindlers. Our ethics and good name are also prime targets. Swindlers in the business world, universities, schools, etc. will weave deceptions around the truth and destroy ethics that where once sound. As the half-truths of (…no one will ever know; …you can be rich; …go on, you deserve it; etc.) falls on open ears and minds that are receptive to selfishness and greed. The next thing they know, they have sprung the trap on themselves.

In the book of Genesis, the ultimate swindler told Eve that if she ate of the fruit that God had forbidden her and Adam to eat, that she would not surely die. The swindler continued to weave his lies around the truth, by saying to Eve that - ...God had forbidden the fruit because he did not want Adam

and Eve to be like him. Now God had told Adam and Eve, that to eat of the forbidden fruit would bring death, but that old serpent had planted the thought in Eve and Adams's heads that they could be more than they were. Not only that, but that God was not being honest with them by keeping something of great value from them. As it turned out, God was the one being honest. Adam and Eve where much more than they believed they where, but choose to believe that they where lesser than they where. They believed that an apple would make them better. That it would make them like God. The trap was sprung as they choose an apple over paradise. This was the first real-estate scam ever in recorded history.

Don't get scammed. If anything sounds too good, it probably is and you need to examine it before you end up being trapped by a lie. In time past, when several generations lived under one house hold, you could go to your elders. But times have changed and very few house holds have members of more than one generation. Today, many victims never pray to God nor seek out advise from Godly mentors before handing over their hard earned money and valuables to swindlers both in the work place and at home. Neither do the victims pray or seek out advice from Godly mentors before compromising their character and ethics. It is critical that you know where you want to go in your life and create a plan for getting there. Then stick to your game plan. It is more difficult to fall pray to a lie, if you are sticking to a well orchestrated plan. If you don't know how to get to where you want to go or you are not sure on how to create a plan, you should seek out a good mentor or coach. But be sure to pray about it first. After you pray about it, work with a coach, a mentor, or an accountability partner - which you feel lead by God to work with.

Copyright 2005 Stan Lewis

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