December 20, 2018

Lies Disguised as Truth

“You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.” – Ezekiel 13:19

It’s all just a masquerade but so many people think it’s real. They get agitated and upset over something they believe, causing them to sin in ways they wouldn’t otherwise have sinned.

We gather together with hearts hardened toward others, righteous in our beliefs and unwilling to listen to the other viewpoint. We don’t bother to check our facts or review our sources, choosing to believe what sounds good over what is right.

During my first semester of college, we were required to take a course titled Mass Communications 101. This was long before tabloids joined the broadcast ranks and long before the internet was slammed with Facebook and YouTube and other venues. It was a time of clear lines between legitimate news journalists and those who shredded the truth in order to sensationalize a story.

We studied the ways in which tabloids would take a tiny fact and surround it with what ifs and possibilities and unnamed sources. A person who wasn’t careful could believe aliens had invaded Los Angeles or a celebrity was having an affair. No proof was required.

We the people enjoyed that. We fed on what was sordid. We snatched up the tabloids and clamored for more. It was juicy reading and we believed it all.

Every now and then someone would sue but mostly folks just let it go. It’s difficult to prove someone tried to harm you even though you could easily argue that lies are intended to harm.

We the people fueled it all with our insatiable appetite for those things that fueled our anger and inspired our passions. We hungered for reality shows that made us feel better about ourselves by exposing the sordid lives of others. Our soap operas of yesterday became the tabloid journalism of today.

I am amazed at those who truly believe if it’s on YouTube or Facebook that it has to be true. I can only shake my head at those who truly believe that “news” on television is created all the same. They can’t see that people arguing about an issue has nothing to do with “news” and everything to do with opinion.

This isn’t about political positions. It’s about facts. Just because one person said it doesn’t make it true. Do people research issues and check facts? No. It’s just too easy to focus on those who share our opinions and spread their views as facts.

We have created a monster. Or, maybe, Satan has created a monster and used us to do it. We seek to destroy each other, unable to share a civil conversation about any issues we disagree on. We are so busy fighting “for” God, that we’ve lost Him and we don’t even know it.

Satan works hard each day to lead us astray, to focus our fight on each. Every time we believe his lies, we become less of who we could be in Christ.

November 7, 2018

Love Like Jesus

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. – 1 John 4:20

As I write this, the election polls are still open. I have no idea who will win any of the many offices up for grabs. But I do know one thing: The hatred and finger pointing has already commenced.

In every race, someone is going to be disappointed and someone is going to be happy. It’s part of the political process. One winner. That’s all.

We’re privileged to have the opportunity to vote. We live in a free country. Many have died to give us this right to express our opinion. I vote. Always. I believe strongly in what my Mother used to say: If you don’t vote, don’t complain. You’re part of the problem.

What I can’t understand, though, is why we can’t seem to talk with one another anymore. We point fingers. We argue. We call each other names. But we don’t talk. It’s like we’ve forgotten how to have a civil conversation.

The great statesmen in Congress seem to have died or retired. Every politician, no matter the political party, appears to be out for number one with little to no regard for what’s best for our nation. They’re so busy trying to get reelected, to get their name in the news, to put more money in their pockets, that they forget Congress was supposed to be about serving the people.

We the people have certainly fueled that. We are blasted daily by shows that argue opinions and call them facts. We are faced daily with inaccurate “news” that we don’t bother to verify before sharing and blasting it everywhere.

And we point fingers. We call people names when they don’t agree with us. We don’t want to share life with those who disagree with our political views. We’re just so arrogant in our opinions that we’ve forgotten how to listen.

Why in the world would you hate someone who disagrees with your political opinion? Do you hate someone who doesn’t look like you? Do you hate someone who is of a different faith? Sadly, for many the answer is yes.

It doesn’t have to be that way. I have friends who disagree vehemently with my beliefs. I feel the same about theirs. We discuss issues. We’ve learned to share information and listen without taking it personally. We’ve learned to value our friendship enough to be civil in our disagreements.

I think what bothers me the most about the hateful comments I hear – from both sides – is that so many of those comments are coming from people who claim to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. How can you hate those created in God’s image? How can you claim to truly know Jesus when your heart is filled with such ugliness?

God is love. That’s what John tells us in 1 John 4:8. So if He lives inside of us, how can we hate? How can we let political disagreements turn into something so ugly.

I don’t know how you voted yesterday or even if you voted. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make either of us better than the other, or wiser, or anything else. We are all God’s children. We are all created in His image.

So act like it. Instead of hatred, show grace. Instead of evil, show mercy. Instead of arrogance, show humility. Instead of ugliness, show kindness. Stop hating people because they disagree with you. Instead, love them like Jesus would do.