Not all that glitters is gold.

Gold is a precious metal known for its great beauty. In nature, it is rare and very hard to find. Tiny bits of gold are sometimes in quartz rock on the sides of hills or in small stones in riverbeds, but not often.

When people are trying to find gold, they might discover some mineral that looks like it, but is not gold. They are really excited to think they have found real gold, but they are very unhappy later to learn that it glittered like gold, but was not gold at all. They should have studied ahead of time to know the difference before wasting too much of their energy.

One of the saddest feelings we can ever have is when seeing that we have been fooled. Maybe a friend has lied to us, somebody has stolen from us or badly hurt us in some other way. How do you feel when that happens? So, so sad! Then something that looked shiny turns out to be fake.

The world has a lot of fake things in it. Jesus has told us not to be surprised when something ends up being fake. He does not want us to pretend things are real when they are not. That would be living in a lie. So, He tells us, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).

God’s children are to be like doves and like sheep—both are peaceful and pure. But there are many wolves in the world that try to destroy the sheep. Sometimes we can see clearly that they are wolves. But other times they dress up to look like sheep—and that makes them much more dangerous. Jesus warns us: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). This is scary.

So, Jesus has told us to watch out. Be aware like the serpent, but harmless as a dove. A dove does not usually try to hurt anything—that’s why the dove is a symbol of peace.

What does all this mean for us? Don’t be fooled by false “gold” that glitters, but is not real—like the false words of people who seem fine but they are not really telling the truth. Jesus calls them wolves. The Bible also compares real gold to faith in Christ and sheep to God’s faithful children.

Study your Bible deeply to know what the truth really is! Live by that truth in God’s strength. That will protect you from lying wolves, no matter how they may be dressed.—BHM.