The Amorphophallus Titanium is likely the tallest liar in the plant kingdom.

For six years or so it puts all its energy into growing. It can reach a towering fifteen feet. Then, the Amorphophallus begins to bloom. Its eight-foot high bud slowly peels apart, unfurling into a four-foot, tropical, burgundy skirt.

It is a rare and beautiful sight — especially if you’re a carnivorous insect. This incredible flower smells like rotting meat. Instead of being a haven for bees, humming birds and butterflies, this flower emits a stenchy lie that draws decay-loving insects in.

Dung beetles and flesh flies are attracted to the blood red color, the 98 degree heat and the wafting mix of limburger cheese, rotting fish and sweaty socks. The odor grows in intensity, reaching its peak in the dark of night, but it’s all show. There is nothing dead inside the plant. Death-seeking insects are drawn in only to unknowingly transfer the plant’s pollen. The giant lie offers them nothing in return.

The Bible says that Satan was once a beautiful angel. Today, he parades the earth enticing people with lies — likely, beautiful ones. Like the Amorphophallus Titanium, their emptiness steals something from us: our precious, God-given time and our relationship with our Savior.