This particular lady was flying from Thailand to Iran. But security agents noticed that she was acting nervous and that her suitcase was oversized. They then decided to X-ray her checked bag. At first, they only saw stuffed toys, but then they saw what looked like it might be a real tiger. Opening the bag, they were quite startled to see a 2-month-old tiger cub that had been drugged!
The tiger was exhausted, weak and dehydrated, and it could not even stand up. It was promptly sent to a wildlife conservation center in Bangkok, where it could be cared for and brought back to health. The 31-year-old woman was arrested, slapped with a heavy fine, and will most likely face years of jail time.
Smuggling animals can be highly profitable, making it a real temptation to the greedy. In Iran, exotic pets are popular. The baby cub tiger could have fetched $3,200 on the black market. Obviously, this woman thought that it would be easy to hide a tiger in her suitcase, and she lost her freedom over it.
Many people believe that it will be easy to get into heaven, and they do not fear the judgment of God. But this is just one of Satan’s many deceptions. They feel that somehow God will overlook their sins. They think that they can live their lives as they please, not realizing that we must all stand in front of God and be judged as individuals. It won’t matter then what anyone else did or what anyone else thinks — only what we did and what God thinks about it. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:2727And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)). Right now is the time to think seriously about these things. After we die, it will be too late! “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:3131It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:31)).
Fueled by Greed
A man arriving in Mexico City was detained after it was discovered that he was hiding 18 Titi monkeys under his clothing. These six-inch-long monkeys are on the endangered list, and Mr. Cobrera did not have a legal permit to bring them into the country. He had hidden them in socks and tied them to a girdle which he then wrapped around his waist. Unfortunately, two of the little monkeys had died by the time they were discovered.
Mr. Cobrera told authorities that he had originally put the monkeys in his suitcase when he flew from Lima, Peru, to Mexico City. When he got to the airport, he stuffed them in socks and put them under his clothes “to protect them from X-rays” while going through customs. He had paid $30 apiece for them. Apparently, they can go for as much as $1,000 each on the wildlife black market.
Mark Day, a customs official, stated, “Wildlife smuggling is a global, multi-billion-dollar business, estimated by Interpol at $6-8 billion annually and second only to the global drug trade.” He went on to make the telling observation, “Like the drug trade, the trade in endangered species is fueled by greed.”
Consequences
There are very good reasons why there are laws against smuggling exotic animals and endangered species. The Department of Agriculture has valid concerns about what these animals might be carrying on them. It is believed that birds smuggled into California were the carriers of the Newcastle virus, which became an epidemic and caused the deaths of millions of birds and poultry in the 1970s. Deadly diseases such as SARS and monkey pox have been transferred from animals to people.
As stated above, the consequences of sin are serious. Not only does God tell us that we will be judged for our sins, but He also tells us what that judgment will be. “The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:88But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)). “But I’m not that bad! I haven’t committed murder, adultery or any other wicked deed!” Maybe not. But the verse starts off with the “fearful” — many people do not come to faith in Christ because of what their friends or family will think. Hell will be full of such people. Next on the list is the “unbelieving,” which describes every person in hell. Do not let greed, ambition, a cynical attitude or any other thing keep you from accepting God’s free gift of salvation.
What, then, does God want from us? The Bible tells us that we need to have “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:2121Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)). Repentance means to acknowledge that God is right as to our sinful state before Him, and we deserve His righteous judgment. When we truly get into the presence of God, who is holy and pure, we realize a little how awful we really are. Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ means that we believe in our hearts that God’s Son, the Lord Jesus, died and bled on Calvary’s cross for our sins. There needs to be repentance AND faith. This is the true gospel. When we believe it in our hearts, we have eternal life! “The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)).
Deception isn’t only due to hate or greed. Pursuing pleasure can lead to the high levels of deceit detailed in The Faraday Cage.