Have you been guilty of doing this? I know I have. Why do we do that? We do it because we all have, like the font on my computer, a 'default' position or mindset. This can, of course, be affected by our upbringing, experience, religion, politics....in fact it can be affected by so many things. Does that mean that our default position is correct? Definitely not! It can be very damaging, dangerous or just plain ridiculous to have a mind closed to possibilities.
For example, I am amazed to find that there is actually still a "Flat Earth Society" on the internet that flies in the face of not only scientific fact, but photographic evidence, to the contrary. This proves that people will believe what they want to believe. Down through the ages people have been persecuted, prosecuted and even killed for telling the truth. Jesus is but one example of this.
In this age of shocking or sensational headlines truth doesn't seem to matter. There was a women's magazine that I used to buy and enjoy decades ago that now prints such rubbish and lies I am ashamed for them. In my naivety I didn't realise that journalists/magazines could just make up their own stories if they were short on material!
We live in an age where we must look for facts behind shock headlines. How many times have you been pulled in by some headline appearing with news items online only to find that the article bears little relation to the headline and is just a hook to draw you into reading advertising for a product you are totally not interested in? What a time-waster.
Proverbs 18:13 warns us against 'spouting off' - or, I would say, even making a decision about something - before we have checked out the facts. Great damage can be done. It only takes a spark to get a fire going and we have to be watchful and make sure we are not inflamed by headlines that do not tell the whole truth. Remember that "your great enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). It's not only people that the devil is after, it's also nations. Jesus referred to Satan as "the prince of this world" and so he is. His aim is destruction, he's called 'the destroyer' (Revelation 9:11) and prophetically in Jeremiah 4:7 it says "A lion stalks from its den, a destroyer of nations." Nations can be destroyed by lies, wars have been started by lies and people's lives and reputations have been destroyed by lies, and even some protest marches formed or joined by people who are not always fully informed or who have ulterior motives.
In 1839 Edward Bulwer-Lytton coined a phrase, "the pen is mightier than the sword" in his historical play Cardinal Richelieu. How true this is and how careful we must be. I believe that the media is more powerful today than at any other time in history. Let's not be too lazy or too prejudiced to look behind the headlines and seek out the truth. Or if we don't want to do that we should at least hold our tongues and not repeat as truth what may later be proven to be lies or at best half truths. Ask yourself who is generally the power behind the media and what is his motive. "A lying tongue hates its victims:" (Proverbs 26:28). Don't be guilty of adding fuel to what may be the destroyer's fire.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, please give me wisdom both to discern truth from lies, and to hold my judgement and my tongue when things are not clear. Help me to hold fast to your truth and to heed your warnings about speaking only truth. Amen
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