Readings for today: Proverbs 17-20
The truth is almost impossible to discern these days. Every news story has an angle. Every commentator has an agenda. Every social media post has a slant. All of them designed for a particular audience. Just about every day, I scan the headlines of the BBC, CNN, and FoxNews. Sometimes I add in MSNBC as well. I read the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. I scroll through Twitter where I intentionally follow a diverse group of people from across the social, political, and religious spectrum. And while my sample size isn’t all that big, it’s also not small and the thing I’ve learned over the years is never take anything at face value. Make sure you try to listen and understand all the perspectives in play on a particular issue before you draw any conclusions. Where did I learn this from? King Solomon. Listen to how he puts it,
“The first speech in a court case is always convincing— until the cross-examination starts!” (Proverbs 18:17 MSG)
We have a tendency to believe the first thing we hear especially if it comes from a member of our tribe. We have a tendency to rush to judgment especially if it involves the member of a different tribe. Democrats accuse Republicans and Republicans accuse Democrats. Conservatives accuse Progressives and Progressives accuse Conservatives. Evangelicals accuse Exvangelicals and Exvangelicals accuse Evangelicals. Blacks accuse Whites and Whites accuse Blacks. Gays accuse Straights and Straights accuse Gays. The list is almost endless. Each side assuming the worst of the other. Each side only considering the evidence that fits their particular narrative. Each side accusing the other of operating in bad faith. It’s a brutal, vicious cycle that can only end one way. The complete and total destruction of the “other.” It’s why we see violence and hatred and outrage ratcheting up to dangerous levels. Because there can be no compromise with the enemy. The only righteous and just thing to do is destroy them.
The one who first states their case always seems so right until we get to hear the other side. As Christians, we are called to discern the truth. We must reject falsehoods or half-truths of any kind. We are not given the option to embrace that which supports our own personal tribal narrative. And we never operate in an underhanded, manipulative, deceitful way. We walk in the light as children of the light. We walk with complete honesty and transparency before the Lord and before the world. We listen before we speak. We make a complete investigation before we draw any conclusions. We never assume. And we always try to engage in good faith and with the best intentions. As of the writing of this blog, some 63% of Americans identity as Christians. That’s approximately 210 million people. Imagine the impact we could make if we would simply commit to follow Solomon’s advice from the Proverbs? Imagine how the spheres of politics, media, and mass culture would change if we would commit ourselves to seek the truth and speak the truth all in love?
Readings for tomorrow: None