Recently, on Good Morning America, they featured a story about a woman who had tried many different fad diets unsuccessfully. She finally decided to do it the old-fashioned way...by watching what she ate and exercising. To motivate herself, the woman chronicled her weight loss by blogging about it and posting pictures of her progress. Nothing special about that, until they revealed the kicker... Those pictures were lifted from her blog and used by a scam company to promote their diet product.
And to further mislead people, they claimed the loss, which had taken place over the course of a year, was actually the result of just 30 days on their product.
Real photos. Real weight loss. "Real" product. Real big lie.
The woman tried to track down the companies using her pictures. She wrote 'cease and desist' notices whenever she found an email address to write to. ABC News was able to find an actual mailing address for one of them, but it turned out to be just a PO box in Florida. She said sometimes images are taken down from one web site,only to pop up on another in less than a day.
The woman described the companies as "this nameless, faceless thing you can't go after."
In the end, her only option was to battle their lies with the truth.
To combat the false ads, she is doing everything in her power to get out the real story of her year long weight loss journey that required sacrifice and hard work. And she's asking others to help her do the same.
The news story contained one more thing...a piece of advice from an online safety consulting firm. The chief executive of that company said he counsels clients to protect themselves by using a watermark on any photo they post.
As I recounted the story to a friend, it hit me. We live in a world trying to sell a false bill of goods, much like that weight loss company. The offer may even have a kernel of truth at its core, but it's been so twisted, so misrepresented, the end result is just a lie. Just like you can't lose a years' worth of weight in 30 days, you can't find lasting joy in a person, a job, a bottle, a car, a house, a winning lottery ticket or from "within."
As a believer, how do we battle the lies we see and hear every day? The ones that constantly pop up all around us. Do you feel like the problems of this world are so huge they're just a "nameless, faceless thing you can't go after?"
The lies of this world are many, it's true. But we are given resources to fight them. Ephesians 6:10 - 18 talks about putting on the full armor of God for the battle. Verse 17 in particular states: "Take the helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
My friend, as a believer, you have a watermark to protect you. You have been sealed with the blood of Christ - it is your helmet of salvation - and you are called to represent Him in this world. Until Christ comes again, there will always be lies, and trickery, and deceit, but you have another option to offer those who will listen...
your only option is to battle the lies of this world with the Truth.
Last month I attended The Greater Philadelphia Christian Writer's Conference that carried the theme "Write His Answer" from Habakkuk 2:2. Those in attendance were challenged to do this very thing...to take the truth out into the world for all to see through our gift of writing. Whenever I post to this blog, I do my best to share God's truth as He has revealed it to me through nature, an encounter, a situation, a scripture. Your gift may be different than mine, you may not be a writer, but you can use whatever God has gifted you with to show truth to a world filled with lies.
The woman in the story is doing everything she can to expose the lies of a weight loss company with the truth of her story. She's enlisting others to get the word out as well.
How much more do we need to expose the lies that will take down souls for eternity with the Truth of His story?
Won't you join me in the fight?
An EXCELLENT word...well said, Toni!
ReplyDeleteWell, you know it was a divine aha moment :)
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