The cheater: PEOPLE ARE "NOT" BASICALLY GOOD
“…. Be not deceived; God is not
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of
the flesh reap corruption; …”
(Galatians 6:7-8 KJV).
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A cheater is “ANYBODY” who behaves in a
dishonest way, on any level (financially, emotionally, spiritually, or
physically) in order to gain some selfish advantage. “…Lying
lips are
abomination to the Lord…” (Proverbs 12:22 KJV).
A cheater gains this
dishonest advantage by deliberately deceiving, tricking, misleading, being
sexual unfaithful, swindling, defrauding, and eluding others. “…Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey …to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain…”
(Ezekiel 22:27 KJV).
Cheaters will cheat you
out of your material possessions, your emotional health, your spiritual wealth,
and your physical well-being if possible. “…he that soweth to his flesh shall
of the flesh reap corruption…”
(Galatians 6:8 KJV).
Today we will focus,
mainly, on how people are cheated out of their emotional health, material
possessions, and spiritual well-being by real-life cheaters. “…Do
not
steal. “Do not deceive or cheat
one another…”
(Leviticus 19:11 NLT).
If someone can get you
to trust them and gain control over you, then your material possessions, spiritual
well-being, and emotional health will follow. Woe to the CHEAT or CHEATER who
does this. “..What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at
dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you
have the power to do so. When you want a piece of land,
you find a way to seize it. When you
want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and
violence. You cheat a man (woman) of his (her)
property, stealing his (her) family’s inheritance. But this is what
the Lord
says: “I will reward your evil with evil; you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose. You
will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time…”
(Micah 2:1-3 NLT).
A cheater can be so
good at cheating and taking advantage of people that some people will never
know or won’t ever realize they’ve been cheated until it’s too late. “…This know also, that in the
last days perilous times shall come
. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, … unholy,… false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are
good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of
godliness, but denying the power
thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive
silly women laden with sins, led
away with divers lusts,… men of corrupt
minds, reprobate concerning the
faith. ….
evil men and seducers shall
wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived…”(2
Timothy 3:1-13 KJV). “…Ye shall know them by their
fruits…” (Matthew 7:16 KJV).
Why
do Cheaters THINK they’re getting away with this? “…Because
sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily …the
HEART of the sons of men is fully set in them… to do evil….”
(Ecclesiastes 8:11 KJV).
Cheaters ARE NOT listening to God. “…But my people would not
listen to me. They kept doing whatever they wanted,
following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They
went backward instead of forward”
(Jeremiah 7:24 NLT). “But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to
live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires…”
(JEREMIAH 18:12 NLT).
The cheater, like a
false prophet, can become a harmful and misleading attachment. “…Beware of false
prophets,
which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves…” (Matthew 7:15 KJV). “…Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many….”
(Matthew 24:11 NASB).
Victims, of cheaters,
often don’t know until they have spent their good, youthful years with him or
her. They will, unknowingly, have, given away or linked most of their material
possessions to the cheater, invested much of their livelihood to them, risked
their physical and emotional health for them, or lose sight of their own
personal, spiritual journey with God, the Creator.
“…Don’t let the excitement of youth
cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old
and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.” Remember him before the
light of the sun, moon, and stars is dim to your old eyes, and rain clouds
continually darken your sky. Remember him before your
legs—the guards of your house—start to tremble; and before your shoulders—the
strong men—stoop. Remember him before your teeth—your few remaining
servants—stop grinding; and before your eyes—the women looking through the
windows—see dimly. Remember him before the door to life’s opportunities is
closed and the sound of work fades. Now you rise at the first chirping of the
birds, but then all their sounds will grow faint. Remember him before you
become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets; before your
hair turns white like an almond tree in bloom, and you drag along without
energy like a dying grasshopper, and the caperberry no longer inspires sexual
desire. Remember him before you near the grave, your everlasting home, when the
mourners will weep at your funeral. Yes, remember your Creator now while you
are young, before the silver cord of life snaps and the golden bowl is broken.
Don’t wait until the water jar is smashed at the spring and the pulley is
broken at the well. For then the dust will return to
the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it…”
(Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 NLT).
A cheater slowly, but
surely kills, steals and destroys the other person while making themselves an
indispensable stronghold (entrenchment, domination, fortified place, etc.“…The
thief cometh not, but for to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy…” (John 10:10 KJV).
The cheater is
sufficiently benefitted at the other person’s expense. “…They …serve ….their
OWN belly…”
(Romans 16:18 KJV).
A cheater will break ALL
the ethical, moral, spiritual, or unwritten rules of conduct in their
relationship with others if it gets them what they want. “..You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out
(cheating plots), simply because you have the power to do so. When
you want
a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When
you want someone’s house,
you take it by fraud and violence. You
cheat a man
of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance. …”
(Micah 2:1-3 NLT).
It matters nothing to
cheaters that what they want is obtained through deceit or dishonesty. “…Don’t do as the wicked do, and don’t
follow
the path of evildoers. Don’t
even think about it don’t go that way. Turn away and keep moving.
For evil people can’t
sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day. They
can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble. They eat the food of wickedness and drink the wine of
violence!”
(Proverbs 4:14-17 NLT).
A cheater is commonly
linked to infidelity. Infidelity, however, also refers to cheating, betrayal,
disloyalty, thieving (stealing), robbing, or unfaithfulness. “…if you fail to keep your word, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and
you may be sure that your sin will find you out…”
(Numbers 32:23 NLT). “…You have also heard … ‘You
must not break your vows; you
must carry out the vows you make to the Lord…” (Matthew
5:33 NLT). “… to him that knoweth to do
good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin…”
(James 4:17 KJV). “….Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have
done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, YE HAVE DONE IT TO ME…” (Matthew 25:40 KJV).
A cheater doesn’t cheat
ALL the time, but will rely on cheating when necessary to gain or sustain his
or her dishonest advantage. After all, they are a CHEAT or CHEATER even when
they are not actively cheating. “…They lie awake at night, hatching
sinful plots. Their
actions are never good. They
make no attempt to turn from evil…”
(Psalms 36:4 NLT).
A CHEATER CHEATS. They
will CHEAT you out of respect, honor, dignity, true love, the truth, the ability
to trust, and the innate right to dwell safely or peacefully in God’s world.
A cheater is ALWAYS dishonest.
There is NOT a “little” dishonesty; dishonest “IS” dishonest. “…Whoever can be trusted with very little can
also be trusted with much, and whoever
is dishonest with very little will also be
dishonest with much…” (Luke 16:10 KJV).
“…Let no debt remain outstanding, except the
continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the
law. The commandments “You
shall not steal (cheat, rob),”
… and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love
does no harm to a neighbor…”
(Romans 13:8-10 KJV).
“….But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of GREED,
because these are improper for
God’s holy people…” (Ephesians 5:3 KJV).
“…You
know the commandments
…. ‘you shall not steal (cheat, rob), …you shall not defraud (cheat or deprive
somebody of something by dishonest means)…”
(Mark 10:19 KJV).
“…The
acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery …selfish ambition, dissensions …and the like. I warn you, as I did before,
that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God…”
(Galatians 5:19-21 KJV).
“…Their actions are never good. …”
(Psalms 36:4 NLT). “…Ye shall know them by their fruits…”
(Matthew 7:16 KJV).
Cheaters have unique
fruit or traits that distinguish them from other people. Identifying a cheater
can be a preventive measure that may protect you from getting involved with
one. “…Ye shall know them by their fruits…”
(Matthew 7:16 KJV).
The following is a
short list of SOME, not all, of the traits of a cheater. These are the most
damaging and destructive to others:
Cheaters are emotional
thieves and robbers
Cheaters are master manipulators.
Cheaters are liars,
good liars, and/or compulsive liars.
Cheaters are selfish,
greedy, and make a practice of exploiting people.
Cheaters are never
satisfied.
Cheaters are jealous
and suspect people are being dishonest like they are.
All cheaters don’t have
all the obvious traits mentioned above. They are slick, clever, and try not to
be obviously wicked, but they are, nevertheless, ALL thieves and robbers. “…Their actions are never good. …”
(Psalms 36:4 NLT).
Cheaters are thieves
and robbers because they secretly and wrongfully trying to steal, rob, or
deprive another person of their property (emotional, physical, material,
financial, etc.) through dishonesty, lies, manipulation, seduction, or
exploitation. “…They …serve ….their OWN belly…”
(Romans 16:18 KJV).
A cheater is a thief,
just like the devil, because he or she secretly steals, whatever they want,
from another person. “…The thief (cheater) cometh not, but for to steal
(take, rob, cheat, etc;), and to kill, and to destroy…” (John 10:10 KJV).
A cheater is a robber,
just like the devil because he or she threatens to rob openly, whatever they
want, from another person through deathly conduct and destructive behaviors. “…The
thief cometh not, but for to steal,
and to kill (the other person’s emotional health), and to destroy (the other person’s emotional health)…” (John 10:10 KJV).
Cheaters are not always
obvious to their victims, but are often blatant to others on the outside
looking in.
A CHEATER CHEATS and it
is not merely through infidelity. A cheater is “ANYBODY” who USES dishonest behaviors,
on any level in order to gain some selfish advantage or deprive another person
of their belongings. “…They …serve ….their OWN belly…”
(Romans 16:18 KJV). AND
ARE “…like
wolves ravening the prey …to
destroy souls, to get dishonest gain…”
(Ezekiel 22:27 KJV).
A cheater gains his or
her dishonest advantage by deliberately and intentionally deceiving, tricking,
misleading, being sexual unfaithful, swindling, defrauding, and eluding others. “…Like
wolves ravening the prey …to
destroy souls, to get dishonest gain…”
(Ezekiel 22:27 KJV).
Cheating is a person’s
sinful reaction to getting what they want in life. In their minds, cheating has
become a habit or practice. However, the longer a cheater goes undetected, the
worst they become.
It seems years and
years, go by, and the cheater is getting away with stealing, killing, and
destroying others. But there is a guarantee, in God’s word, that a sin sown,
demands a harvest to be reaped. “…. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of
the flesh reap corruption; …”
(Galatians 6:7-8 KJV).
What this means is that
eventually life will begin to treat the cheater exactly as she or he has
treated others. The reason it is not automatic is because God is gracious and
gives every cheater TIME to repent.
Life MAY SEEM to go well with
cheaters or favor them, but eventually they will have to deal with the seeds of
sin they’ve sown. “…. for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. …”
(Galatians 6:7-8 KJV). Even with God’s mercy to save the cheater’s soul, they
will still receive their harvest.
The problem with a harvest is
that it will greatly multiply whatever you sow. If you sow a seed for an apple,
not only will it produce an apple tree with apples, but those apples will have
multiple seeds, which can produce more and more apples trees. This harvest
could go on and on and on.
The Cheater is doomed,
especially in those areas where he or she has sown the seed of dishonesty. The
same thing seed they have sown will bring them a harvest of the same, only
MULTIPLIED! “…They sow the wind And they
reap the whirlwind…”
(Hosea 8:7 NASB). “…Whatever a man sows, this he
will also reap…”
(Galatians 6:7 NASB).
A cheater will cheat you and maybe IT
SEEMS like they’ve gotten away or are getting away with it, but every day they
are closer to reaping the PROMISED harvest.
But a cheater’s fate, without repentance,
will ONLY lead to his or her own ruin. “...A
person's own folly leads to their ruin...” (Proverbs 19:3 NIV). “...People ruin their
lives by their own foolishness...” (Proverbs 19:3
NLT).
There are cheaters in THIS world. We would like to think all
people are basically good, but without God and his indwelling Holy Spirit,
mankind is basically a sinful nature.
The longer a person remains a cheater, the sin of cheating
will eventually harden their hearts. Cheating becomes a learned and life-long
practiced behavior that is habitual, or a pattern, or an automatic way of
functioning through life.
A cheater may have cheated you, but don’t let it harden your
heart. Let whatever they took from you GO. Their fate is sealed, but you have
bright future a head, in this life and the life to come.
The cheater DOES NOT have a bright future ahead, in this
life, or the life to come. “…They sow[ed]... the wind And they ...[will]...
reap the whirlwind…”
(Hosea 8:7 NASB). “…Whatever a man sows, this he
(she) will also reap…”
(Galatians 6:7 NASB).
EVERY DAY the cheater gets closer and closer
to the WHIRLWIND! “...Even now the ax of
God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every
tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the
fire...” (Matthew 3:10 NLT). "...The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire...” (Matthew
3:10 NASB).
“…. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of
the flesh reap corruption; …”
(Galatians 6:7-8 KJV).
“…They sow[ed]... the wind And they ...[will]...
reap the whirlwind…”
(Hosea 8:7 NASB).
