Do not be over impressed with somebody’s gifts. The person may be beautiful, handsome, intelligent, educated…can sing, preach or pray…can be famous or wealthy…all these are good but they can can be sources of deception for they do not represent the heart. Learn to ignore the attraction of the superficial flesh!
Study the character, the behavior! Look for the fruit of the Holy Spirit clearly manifesting in that person: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22, 23). By finding spiritual fruit in a person you shall eliminate all sources of danger, disappointment and deception! Why complicate your life? Stay simple! Stay safe! Stay happy!

“Beware of false teachers who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are wolves and will tear you apart. You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes or figs with thistles. Different kinds of fruit trees can quickly be identified by examining their fruit. A variety that produces delicious fruit never produces an inedible kind. And a tree producing an inedible kind can’t produce what is good. So the trees having the inedible fruit are chopped down and thrown on the fire. Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit produced” (Mt 7;15-20; TLB)