Liars and What They Want

Here's an analogy for how many spirits manipulate us. Recall the "discovery" of the Americas by the Europeans? Remember how the first white men to arrive were viewed as gods by some Native Americans? Yet these "gods" were actually seeking gold and other monetary profits. The power of gold to corrupt human nature was something the native people did not understand enough.

The conquering Europeans had superior technology and knew things the native people had no clue about. Many settlers and their descendents felt no scruples about getting help from the native people, making treaties, and then breaking those treaties as soon as gold was found in the natives' land. As for the Native Americans, they did not understand what the Europeans wanted, and were frustrated each time the paper treaties were broken. But greed and technical superiority ruled the day.

This is not to say the Native Americans were completely innocent victims, or to say that Europeans were all bad guys. However, these aspects remain relevant to a discussion of how bad spirits take advantage of humans:

Some spirits know more about spiritual/psychic matters than we do.
Some spirits can use their superior knowledge (psychic "technology") to try to convince us they are what they claim to be --- gods, angels, aliens, or whatever.
Spirits are sometimes after something that we don't fully understand, yet which we can provide (the equivalent of gold).
Spirits may make treaties (agreements, contracts) with us, and then turn around and break those treaties whenever convenient.
In the meantime, the spirits may feel free to give us what we want, just as some Europeans traded glass beads and such, as long as it has some long-term or short-term profit for them.

After all, if we humans can do things like this, what's to stop a spirit? Let the buyer beware!