Flashbang
So, what actually is the oldest trick in the book?
Many can agree that a contender is the ‘point and then do something when they look away’ trick.
It’s a distraction. You look at one thing, and miss another thing.
Here’s a real-world application of it. Most of us have at least heard of a stun grenade, also known as a flashbang grenade. It’s a non-lethal grenade that emits a flash of blinding light to disorient the enemy’s senses. The light distracts and disorients.
Now, here’s a thought — is it possible that the Devil is trying to keep us away from God by distracting us? Flooding our eyes with lights and pictures, while our ears are overwhelmed by noises and ringtones to distract us from Truth?
It’s safe to say that the answer is yes.
And, it’s working. Not only are we distracted by the flash, we’ve become accustomed to it. Heck, if we don’t have WiFi we go into withdrawal. The blinding light has become our normal.
Once you figure out the trick, it loses its magic. The problem is that a lot of people don’t realize they’ve been fooled. For us, we must recognize that these distractions keep us from God, and that they’re part of the Devil’s plan. Then, we can see through the smoke and mirrors.
As the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
PS: Last week, I announced the launch of a new project: The Examination Journal — created to help Catholics pray a nightly examen and prepare for Confession. If you are interested in learning more, please check out our Kickstarter page here. You can support this new project with prayers, pledges, or by pre-ordering your first Examination Journal. Just look for the green button that says “Back this project” and the tier that works best for you. God bless!