Comments by friends of mine and a particular video clip which led to the firing of a government appointee, prompted a thought for a follow-up on last week's blog about discipleship. Being a student, or disciple, is not a passive pursuit. In spiritual matters, and other important issues, what we hear, see or read should be questioned, investigated and put in context. Any preacher (or pundit) worth his or her salt will welcome questions and be willing to consider other opinions and thoughts, and all of us should be willing to have thoughts of our own, never blindly believing or mindlessly following anyone.
Yesterday, I overheard someone say, jokingly, "You mean people actually doctor up things on the Internet? Not everything you see on there is real?" We've all been around long enough to know not everything we read is factual, but our human nature is to believe it anyway, especially if what we read is in agreement with what we already tend to think. Even if what we read is "true," there is often at least one more fact that's missing which would change what we think if we only knew it.
It is often difficult to know who to trust and believe, but it is usually easy enough to find out if what someone is saying is trustworthy by doing a little research of our own. What is this person/organization's track record? Could they have an agenda and therefore, find it advantageous to offer partial information? In cases relating to spiritual matters, is what they're saying in line with what we know of the character and nature of Jesus?
Jesus commanded us to love others, and he demonstrated love through compassion, respect, humility, friendship and placing the needs of others ahead of his own. If what is being proclaimed does not line up with at least these basic concepts, there is a distinct possibility that it's not what Jesus had in mind. Jesus did become angry and was, occasionally, confrontational, but upon investigation, we discover his anger was directed at those who were using religion to advance their own agenda...the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the money changers in the temple.
It is important to be mindful of what we say, and it is equally important that we pay close attention to what is being said to us. Whatever we allow to enter our thoughts can easily become part of our beliefs; it is our responsibility to process carefully what we hear.
Terry, such a timely posting. I'm going to recommend it to a group of friends on FB who banter good-naturedly about these issues. It's not effective communication, however, because it's nothing by agenda driven griping. They select certain internet sites to support their positions, and often the agendas(sp)of the sites are so blatantly obvious.
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