Do Not Be Gullible!

Jeremiah 9:4-5 (NIV) – 4 “Beware of your friends; do not trust anyone in your clan. For every one of them is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. 5 Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning.

Jeremiah 9:8 (NIV) – Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully. With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors, but in their hearts they set traps for them.

A gullible person is one who is easily persuaded to believe something that shouldn’t actually be convincing. A gullible person is easy to deceive. It is shocking to discover what gullible people believe. A person who believes that a stranger who has sent an email is actually going to give them millions of dollars. A gullible person believes a prank in which they are told they have won a big prize, and yet no such competition exists. Gullible people easily believe and always get deceived. The message today is simple – do not be gullible!

Jeremiah a prophet of doom, but nevertheless a prophet, warns the people of God that the times are evil. The people of Israel had become dangerously evil. God was preparing to punish them in an unforgettable way by sending them to a seventy years slavery in Babylon. Jeremiah describes the evil in Israel to justify God’s wrath against Israelites. Israel had become so evil, to the extent that Jeremiah warns people against gullibility.

Be slow to trust a friend or a relative of your clan, or a close relative. Everyone has become so deceptive that Jeremiah declared that no one speaks the truth. Jeremiah tells us that the people were so sinful that they wore themselves out with sinning. Do not be gullible!

Deception is rampant because people ceased to think about the welfare of their neighbors. They lie for self interest. Even blood relatives don’t care about each other, they lie to each other. Under such circumstances, do not be gullible!

It’s good to have friends. You can trust friends with sensitive secrets. Those kind of secrets that make you vulnerable. Jeremiah tells us to be careful. At the end of time, friends will betray each other. Do not be gullible!

Do not be so gullible to lend money you desperately need to a sibling, relatives or friends. It’s always safe to lend money you can do without. Many times those who borrow soft loans are incapable of making that kind of money or repaying it. Once you lend it, your relationship starts suffering as they avoid repayment. Therefore when they come borrowing money, do not be gullible!

When siblings, relatives and friends know that you have money, they will try to get it for themselves. Therefore do not go around telling every sibling, relatives and friends that you have made money, thinking you are sharing confidential good news to be celebrated. Keep it personal and help them when they are in need. Do not be gullible!

Sharing your plans may kill the internal drive you need to accomplish them. Sharing your plans may also mean someone will use that information to go ahead of you and compete against you. Learn self control. Do not be gullible!

Getting guidance from other people could be gullibility. You shouldn’t be getting guidance on when to study from your peers, plan for yourself and study in your own terms. You shouldn’t be getting guidance on how to run your family, how to relate with your spouse, from some siblings, relatives or friends, you will crash your marriage and family. That is gullibility. Do not be gullible!

Not every deal is a good deal. Business requires risk taking, but the risks are calculated. Calculate the risk and possibility of success. Do not rush to invest because you trust the person who brought the investment news, no, trust the reasoning behind the investment, understand how it works and the risk. Do not be gullible!

You believe your money will double in two months? You believe because you understand the business or because the person who told you is trustworthy? Do not be gullible!

Normal business is tough and hard. Money just doesn’t double. Why are you quick to believe? You are gullible. Do not be gullible!

Health matters are complex and personal, why do you quickly believe that some anecdotes by friends, relatives and siblings are the medical breakthrough that the world doesn’t know. Do not quickly believe and buy in. Do not be gullible!

Religious matters are sensitive, why do you quickly believe contradictory teachings that haven’t been verified? Shouldn’t you understand why they are new and different? Shouldn’t you verify prayerfully if they have theological coherence? Do not just be quickly convinced. Do not be gullible!

Jeremiah 9:4-5 (Message Bible) – “Be wary of even longtime neighbors. Don’t even trust your grandmother! Brother schemes against brother, like old cheating Jacob. Friend against friend spreads malicious gossip. 5  Neighbors gyp neighbors, never telling the truth. They’ve trained their tongues to tell lies, and now they can’t tell the truth.

Jeremiah 9:8 (Message Bible) – Their tongues are poison arrows! Deadly lies stream from their mouths. Neighbor greets neighbor with a smile, ‘Good morning! How’re things?’ while scheming to do away with him.

Do not be gullible! Not every nice person to you has nice intentions. When a deal is too good think twice. Take each good gesture with a pinch of salt. Do not be gullible!

Not everyone expressing love really loves you. Some love you in order to explore you sexually then abandon you. Do not quickly trust expressions of love, delay intimacy until marriage. Do not be gullible! Some love affairs will take money from you through regular small requests. You will pay and go broke in exchange of what looks like love. Evaluate your relationships and go slow. Do not be gullible!

May God save us from gullibility that is all around us. May God grant us wisdom to evaluate before engaging. May God give us the instinct to detect fraud and fraudsters. May God grant us courage to end exploitative relationships and walk out of such situations. In Jesus name, Amen!

SHARE THIS ARTICLE RIGHT NOW. Someone you know will only know about this article if you share with them. Someone you know needs this article. Share this with one more person. Don’t copy the text. Copy THE LINK or send the website address which is reikesis.com so that they too read the word of God FROM THE WEBSITE and access more. YOU CAN COMMENT on this article at the bottom of the article. Also remember this author has a YouTube channel @ReiKesis which has hundreds of videos for you! Thanks for your loyal support of this ministry!