Casandra Martin

My son was working on a project for school. Suddenly, he was pointing at the screen and calling for his dad. A virus alert was prophesying imminent danger if a click of the mouse didn’t come quickly enough.

My husband looked at the screen and told our son not to touch the pop-up. He explained that this was “scareware,” a scam meant to scare you into clicking on their icon and downloading the virus it claimed to be protecting you from. He then walked my son through how to tell if there was a real virus threat, the safe way to handle the intrusion, and the safeguards on our system to keep viruses at bay.

Scareware sounds like a tactic straight out of hell’s handbook. Make a threat, cause a panic, start a scare, and wait. When we are afraid we tend to react without thinking. We “click” when we should call out for help. We accept the solution suggested to us by the one making the threat in the first place. And then we end up with something worse than a virus in our computers. We end up with an infection in our souls.

My son taught me a lesson in sin prevention today. Ask for help. Rely on someone who understands the way things work. Depend on their expertise. A simple lesson is all that my son needed to put things in perspective. A moment spent with his dad’s hand on his back cleared the intrusion and got him back on track. If I am willing to ask for help, I may avoid a lot of heartache.

My Jesus Resolution today is to walk with a friend. I am going to develop relationships that encourage me to call for help when I need it. I don’t have to all the answers. I don’t need to figure it out by myself. Someone else looking over my shoulder may protect me from the scareware that tends to show up in my life.