Sometimes it’s fun to be fooled. I enjoy a mystery with lots of twists, especially when a seemingly good person turns out to be a beguiling manipulator. While exploitation makes for good entertainment, no one wishes to play the puppet in real life.

Paul warned the church members in Corinth to watch out for manipulators among them: Such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.

The Corinthian church carried a load of problems. In this passage Paul confronted claims of spiritual superiority. In other sections of his letters he addressed lawsuits among the church members, abuse of the communal meal, and sexual misconduct. They were a mess.

Paul pulled his hair out because in the midst of this mess counterfeit apostles stroked egos and told the congregation they were just fine. In confronting the church Paul disrobed the masquerade. He turned the lights on. Behavior that felt good in the dark proved oily in the light.

Deceitful religious leaders manipulate the Bible to their ends, or push followers away totally. Careful study of the good book helps us determine who’s wearing a mask.

If I skip along wherever my inner psyche leads me, and blithely believe I do so as a follower of Christ, then I’m caught up in a masquerade. Only by opening the scriptures do I escape and move on to a life unmasked and free.

2 Corinthians 11 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Andrea Woods