A Pattern of Deliberate Obfuscation

The words were scary and intriguing at the same time: “A pattern of deliberate obfuscation.”

In order to make my way through what that phrase could mean, I decided I needed to start with defining each individual word:

Pattern:  any regularly repeated or reoccurring arrangement, design or sequence.

Deliberate:  done consciously and intentionally; characterized by or resulting from careful and thorough consideration.

Obfuscation:  the act of making something less clear and less easy to understand, especially intentionally; the action of making something obscure, unclear or unintelligible; to throw into shadow.

Putting those definitions together, perhaps this is what the phrase likely means:  a repeated intentional effort to make things unclear so that people are not aware of what is actually going on.

By the way, I originally saw the phrase in an investigative journalism piece.  The journalists concluded, after they had investigated an enterprise that was causing significant public harm, that the enterprise was trying to keep the severity of the harm hidden by engaging in “a pattern of deliberate obfuscation.”

While the word “obfuscate” isn’t used that often today, its meaning encompasses something that actually happened clear back at the beginning of time.  In Genesis 3:1, we find the words “Has God really said”.  These words were spoken by Satan to Eve in the garden.  Satan didn’t come out and say “God is lying to you”, that probably would have shocked Eve and perhaps disengaged her from the conversation.  But by saying “Has God really said”, Satan deliberately and intentionally made things unclear.  Instead of keeping things in the light, Satan cast it all in the shadows where it was difficult to see clearly.

In 2 Corinthians, we find how Paul described what happened that fateful day: “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”  (2 Cor 11:3)

In dealing with His severest critics, those whose conduct had been marked by deception and hypocrisy, Jesus was brutally honest when he told them: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

The apostle Peter adds this perspective regarding the devil: “Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

The BibleRef website notes the following about the word “devour”: “Our enemy the devil desires to devour us, to cause real and lasting harm. The Greek word here is katapiein, literally meaning to "swallow," or to "drown." Peter has made it clear that our place in eternity with our Father is secure. The devil cannot take that from us, but he does seek to damage our faith. He wants fear to shake our submission to the Father, and lies to distort our understanding of God's goodness.”

There’s an age old “pattern of deliberate obfuscation” from Satan that is only getting worse!  Be sober minded and guard against it with truth!