Psalm 18:26b  
The devious
    “But to the devious You show Yourself shrewd.”
The deceivers, the crooked, the devious all think that they are too clever for everyone else; there is the web of self-deceit that the Satan weaves around certain people to the extent that they believe their own propaganda. You meet them everywhere, even in churches, and the clear message here is that God is not fooled! If they think that they can kid us with their duplicity, they cannot kid Him. That is why the Scriptures encourage us to judge people’s intentions and hearts not by what they say, but by what they do.
It follows that it is important that we all constantly search our hearts to see if there is deceit in them. Are we parading around presenting ourselves as godly when we know in our hearts that this is not so? Are we using events and gifts to “show off” under a cover of spirituality? Do we present ourselves as god-fearing with endless Bible quotes but in our hearts we are cold and judgemental? This list is extensive but the verdict is always the same, we cannot fool God.
God is all-wise and sees through all of the bluffing so it comes as a surprise to the devious that He is a perverse God. The true disciple knows that He is not perverse, but to the devious He will appear so because their schemes fail and their popularity diminishes, the people they fooled are fooled no longer and so God gets the blame!  Dear brothers and sisters let us keep to straight paths, let us have pure hearts and clean hands, it is a bad day when God uses perversity to call our bluff. 

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