GETTING SCAMMED and losing a hunk of cash is not the best way to celebrate Christmas. Not fun at all.
Bare-bones account: The trickster—let’s call him Steve—said over the phone that he owed me $200 from some old account. He would put it back into my account—which he somehow made come up on my computer. Red flag #1! Entry made, but $4000, instead of $200. How to give back the “mistake.” Well, go to Best Buy, purchase 3 gift cards—with credit card—and give him the numbers over the phone. Bottom line: my bank account went back to normal but not my credit card. Steve enjoyed 3 pricy gifts.
All my fault. I knew better but somehow felt compelled to follow through. And what to make of the matter? Things to do:
- Forgive Steve.
- Pray for God to serve up either justice or redemptive love—preferably the latter. (Angels and archangels work in both those areas.)
- Change bank accounts and inform Autopay people; make up new passwords and cry a lot from stress and exhaustion.
- But not from anger—even at myself. I’ve had a sense of peace, trusting God to deal with Steve. If I do see him in heaven, I can tell him it was money well spent.
The bigger picture. At Christmastime, we tend to get caught up in small stuff—gift buying, decorating, cooking, generating the “Christmas spirit.” Dickens’ Christmas Carol comes to mind.
But the Christmas backdrop is far larger. The Creator of the entire, massive universe constricted Himself to the size of a single, fertilized egg—body and blood—to dwell in Mary’s womb. God, taking up residence in our minuscule planet, showed His ultimate power by sloughing off that body and blood, then rising from the dead—shattering everyone’s small-minded expectations of what Messiah should be. The world hasn’t been the same since.
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. (Isaiah 40:5)
STEVE, IF YOU’RE READING THIS, COME OUT OF THE DARKNESS INTO THE GLORIOUS LIGHT OF OUR LIVING LORD.
You may have a story, or you might feel led to scold me. Fire away! I deserve every word. But let’s not miss the Big Picture.
Comment below, or on egus@me.com I love hearing from you.
Hi, Ellie, I love you and I am so sorry this happened to you. Mine was that they owed me $300 from something I had purchased over a year ago. The same thing happened to me in that they put the wrong amount on my bank account and I was to go to Walmart and buy gift cards for them. That was in early October and I am still having issues trying to get cleaned up. It is no fun being scammed. I did not think to pray for the person who had called me and done this to me. Instead, I have groaned plenty and been upset that this person could cause me so much trouble and yet was so nice to me on the phone. I actually made the statement that all scammers should go to hell. Not a very Christian response but truly how I felt at the time. Thank you for pointing me to pray for whoever it was and to be ready with the gospel message at all times. There are so many people in darkness who need the light of Jesus. I send you hugs, prayers, and love as you work through this and the light of Jesus as we remember His birth. Love, Anne
Ellie, so sorry to hear that you got caught by this. Bottom line, never give your information to anyone who contacts you – only if you initiate contact!
Bless you for finding a spiritual lesson here to share with us. And may you be blessed for your forgiving heart.
Oh Ellie! What a world we are living in! Do we need to be hard on the outside while remaining soft on the inside? I will pray for Steve, who must be in a desperate place to stoop so low. And I will continue to engage phone scammers in conversation until I wear them down and finally let them know that I will be praying for them to get good, honest employment. They hang up quickly, but with the reassurance that someone is praying for their soul.
I’m so sorry this happened to you dear Ellie! Thank you for the warning.
Ellie, thank you for the warning. So many people now think it’s fine to lie, cheat, steal, even murder! We knew, from the Bible, that this was coming, and it is here.
Thank God for God!!! Studying the Torah with all its regulations about ritual purity, I realize that He made Himself “unclean” in order to live among us. He was unclean at birth, in an animal shelter, in the presence of animal keepers. Shepherds were shunned by everybody. Except Yeshua.
Thank God for God!
oh Ellie! I am so sorry you had to go through this!