A few days ago, I received a call from my credit card company’s fraud department. As I spoke with the representative, he began to verify some recent activity on my account. As he went through the list, there were two charges that I did not recognize. One was for $1.75 (it was an online purchase from some company in the United Kingdom) and the other was also an online purchase of over $1,200 to some construction company. I assured him those were not mine, and he informed me that I was the victim of credit card fraud and my number had been stolen. He then immediately shut down my account and had new cards sent overnight for my wife and me.
As this occurred, I thought about how careful my wife and I are and how much we do to prevent this type of thing from happening. My wife’s purse was stolen a few years back, so we are familiar with the work that comes with trying to dig out of the personal identity theft hole.
After I hung the phone up, I reflected on how this is exactly what Satan wants to do with every Christian. He wants to come in their life, steal their identity as a Christian, and assess marks to their account that would cause others to question whether their activity was them or someone else. As Christians, we must be reminded how important it is for us to live genuinely and completely Christ-like.
It amazes me how after just two purchases, my credit card company suspected someone else had been acting on my behalf. As a Christian, it is equally amazing how unsaved people can so quickly detect a Christian acting as if they are unsaved. It is so vitally important that our daily activities support a real relationship with our Saviour. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” May our daily activities reflect a divine ownership and build a strong case against identity theft.