A Head Above the Rest

 "But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.'" Luke 19:8

    In a recent article warning readers about credit card fraud, the characteristics of Satan were plain as day within the text. The deceptive traps laid by the fraudsters were identified as "dark patterns" using such descriptive words as trick, sneak, fakery, deceive, crooks, illegal, fooled, risk, confuse and coerce. These patterns involved sneaking unwanted items into online carts, convoluted wording meant to induce confusion, visual tricks and psychological games. 

    There were such shysters in Jesus's day, too, the most infamous being tax collectors. This was the trade of Zacchaeus, a short guy whose desire to see Jesus drove him up a sycamore tree. Imagine his shock and delight when Jesus stopped beneath his bough and, addressing him by name, announced He (Jesus) would be dining with him that evening! His meeting with the Savior so changed his heart that he repented of his charlatan ways and vowed to make things right. His integrity raised him a head above the rest.

    I keep an excerpt from Psalm 140 near my computer as a prayer of protection: "Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent who devise ways to trip my feet...Do not grant the wicked their desires, Lord; do not let their plans succeed...May the mischief of their lips engulf them." Maybe I should also pray that the hearts of the fraudsters, like that of Zacchaeus, be changed by the only One who can cleanse their sins.

"You must have accurate and honest weights and measures so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly." Deuteronomy 25: 15, 16