Do Not Be Misled

                            

We live in unprecedented times when it comes to the amount of knowledge and information that are available to everyone. For much of history, access was far more limited. Nowadays, if you need to know how to fix a minor plumbing problem or need to know how to complete a tricky tax form or need help solving a tough math problem, you can just turn on your computer, open your internet browser, and chances are you will be able to find the information you seek. In the past, it wasn’t so easy. A person’s knowledge was typically limited to their professional training. In general, knowledge was more difficult to come by. If you were lucky, you lived in a place with a library that had the right book, but if you go far enough back in history, even that wasn’t an option.


Very few people would argue that it is a bad thing that information is so readily available. A more informed populace should be good for everyone. Unfortunately, as with most things, the good associated with freely available information has come with some bad. It would be nice, if the internet and other resources always provided pure and unfiltered truth, but we all know that is not the case. False information is as pervasive, and in some cases even more pervasive, than the truth. Mistruths are, sometimes, so commonly spread that they are mistaken for truth.


This has been especially problematic over the past few months. Americans have dealt with civil unrest over questionable actions with law enforcement, the consequences of a pandemic, and a lack of confidence in our election process among a variety of other things. In each of these cases, the citizens have been inundated with a variety of opinions, reports, and supposed facts. Much of the information seems contradictory, and as a result, it has been difficult for everyone to know what is real and what isn’t.


With so much riding on our ability to make the right decisions and act on the information accordingly, it has become extremely problematic that so much of the information presented to us is false or misleading. Unfortunately, the consequences of that false information and people’s actions as a result of it have been horrific and even deadly in some circumstances.


It would be nice to say that such problems don’t affect God’s people or those who are seeking Him, but that would not be true. We are as susceptible to falling victim to untrue worldly information as any other person. However, what’s even worse for Believers is the fact that God’s Word itself has also been twisted and distorted in today’s world. Information and knowledge that should be considered sacrosanct and untouchable has been misused and abused. Sometimes, the tampering done with God’s Word is unintentional and the result of wrong interpretation. However, too often the abuse of God’s Word comes as a result of people seeking to use faith in God to push their own agenda, sometimes to the detriment of those who truly believe or want to believe.


It has become commonplace for political leaders, entertainers, and other public figures to use Bible verses to push their agendas or as a defense for their actions. Sometimes the verses are quoted out of context. Other times words have been added to or removed from the verses so that they appear to say something other than what God intends. All too often, popular sayings are credited to the Bible, but are not biblical at all.


It’s easy to see how misuse of the Bible in this way could hurt those who are not strong in their faith or are still seeking God, but the truth is those people are not the only ones that are vulnerable. Even seasoned Believers can find themselves misled, and ironically, the Bible itself tells us this would happen.

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. - 2 Timothy 4:3-4

Paul’s words in these verses are especially timely because they address the echo chambers that are all too common now. People are able to find sources that provide them the information they want to hear, and they indulge in that information and follow it whether it's true or false. The Bible told us that such would be the case even with respect to God’s Word.


The trouble isn’t just limited to errant and self serving misuses of scripture either. It is also becoming increasingly common to see people reinvent the Bible in general so that it supports a variety of new movements, some of which are diametrically opposed to what is actually in the Bible. God, through Peter, warned us about that too.

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. - 2 Peter 2:1-2

Peter makes it clear that the results from these actions won’t be minor. They will be destructive. So what can we do to keep ourselves safe? Well, lucky for us that in this modern age, we all have access to the Bible and can read for ourselves. Even in the case when someone can’t read it for some reason or another, Bible apps can actually read it to us. It is important that we go through the Bible for ourselves. When we do, we’ll know what God is saying and won’t be so easily misled by others. We can also turn to the Holy Spirit for help because through the Spirit, God gives us discernment and understanding. Anyone who believes can make correct use of the Word.

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. - 1 Corinthians 2:12

So let us not be misled or mislead. There is far too much misinformation in the world already. We should all do our best to use the gifts God has given us to spread truth for the benefit of others, and we should also be vigilant so that we ourselves do not fall victim to the many deceptions of the world. Let us become like the early Christian's of Berea!

These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. - Acts 17:11

 

Chris Lawyer

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