White Hats And Black Hats

"And no wonder!  For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light"

When I was growing up, my favorite movies were westerns.  One of the staples of these corny old cowboy movies was that it was very clear who the good guys were and who the bad guys were.  The good guys were clean-shaven with sparkling white teeth and usually donned a white hat.  On the other hand the bad guys looked scruffy and dirty and had probably never taken a bath or washed their clothes.  The bad guys would also mostly have black hats.  These old westerns usually made it pretty easy to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

The devil is not a character out of an old western.  Though he is evil to the core, he doesn't dress the part, he presents himself as a good guy.  He is clean-shaven with a white hat and friendly smile.  His methods promise life and health, but lead to death.  His deceit is such that he'd love to brew up poison, put it in a fancy package, and display it in the health food section.  We ought never forget that our enemy is wily.

When I worked retail I was trained to spot counterfeit bills by becoming very familiar with real bills.  For us, the best way to keep from being duped by the enemy is to become very familiar with the truth of God's Word.  The more we study the Word and commit it to mind and heart, the more crystal clear our discernment will be.  With the Word before our eyes we'll be able to distinguish between the good guys and bad guys no matter what color hat they might be wearing!