¹⁶Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. ¹⁷Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. ¹⁸In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

At the most fundamental level, Satan tempts us to question God’s goodness. After all, when we fall to temptation, do we not frequently resort to blaming our Creator, “Why have you made me this way, God?” The implication is that if God were really good, I wouldn’t be having the trouble I am in now. Is this not what happened in the garden of Eden? The serpent undergirded his temptation to Eve, “God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:5). God was seemingly withholding something good from Eve, so the devil said. But it escaped her notice that it was the knowledge that was being withheld, not a specific piece of fruit. And that knowledge of good was combined with the knowledge of evil. The choice to disobey God at this primary juncture resulted in sin coming into the world, which was laced not just with good, but a knowledge that the good is held in opposition to evil. And it was all based on a lie of the devil.

James could have quoted from Jesus, “Whenever he [the devil] speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). James rejoins, we must not be deceived! Unlike Satan, God is good and true; that is fundamental to our belief in God. James puts it eloquently. All that is good comes from God.  He is the giver of perfection. While Satan brings darkness into the world, God brings light because He is light.  The phrase “Father of lights” means light is a defining characteristic of Him. The apostle John wrote in his divine prologue, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4–5). Our choice is between light and darkness, between God and not-God. We must not be deceived by the temptations of Satan to make the choice of death—to let temptation be conceived in our hearts, which leads to sin, which leads to spiritual death.

There must be no equivocation, because God does not change—He is always true and what He says is true; temptation to believe otherwise will not end well for anyone! Believers in Christ showcase the truth of God by our faithfulness to His Word, that we believe He really is good. We are the “firstfruits”; we give the world a foretaste of what all can experience by following Christ.

Lord, I do believe You are good in all Your ways.