Many Christians can get caught up in religious routines such as going to church, giving to the poor, using religious sayings, and so on. These good works can start to substitute for our faith in God. It is not our good works that keep us in relationship with God. It is our continuing faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord that enables us to have continuing grace with God. If we get too caught up in the letter of the law in doing good works without exercising our faith, we will fall from grace (Galatians 5:4, “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace”).

Joshua 7:12. When you defy God and go your own way with your insatiable desires, you lose your blessings from God. This is what happen when Achan took the accursed things out of Jericho. God's protection and blessings were no longer with Israel as long as Achan continued to covet gold and silver above God (Joshua 7:12, "Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed...."). God will not have a relationship with us, if we are putting anything above him.

Joshua 7:1. When Israel had taken Jericho and Achan acted on his insatiable desire and took the gold and silver from Jericho, God's anger was raised against the entire camp of Israel. When Achan could not control his insatiable desire, he offended God.

Isaiah 59:2. God cannot be in the presence of sin. A key Christian aspect of the definition of deception is that it is a sin. Deception is no more than a lie. It hides the truth. When we deceive people, God separates Himself from us. He will neither show His face nor listen to us when we are spreading deception. When deception is present there is no justice, nor truth. With deception there is only lies that birth sin (Isaiah 59:2-4, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.