Do you hear all the rumors? Do you listen to them and believe them? Do you spread false rumors, whether knowingly or unknowingly? Are you worrying about things that are out of your control? Are you looking for relief, peace, and calm?
We hear more false rumors and half-truths than we recognize every day. We see them spread across the various social media platforms. Our gullibility contributes to the spread of them. We have lost the concept of not repeating something unless we have verified it or have full trust in the person we heard it from.
I remember being raised as a child to not lie. Yet, false rumors are just that—a lie. Our politically correct culture won’t call them that, but that’s what they are. That means we are lying when we repeat them. Do we want to be known as a liar?
We can control our reputation. If we don’t want to be known as a liar, if we want to be a trusted advisor, we must stop lying, stop repeating false rumors. Unfortunately, far too many of us like to hear the gossip and speculate about the rumors. We want to postulate and expound on these false rumors—as long as they don’t personal affect us.
We are called by Jesus to not be deceived. What does that mean? It means we are called to verify what we are being told, what we read. You may be wondering how to do that. Well, my friend, science has a wonderful process. Scientists test and retest. They require multiple sources to verify the point being made before it is trusted as being true.
If each one of us are verifying what we hear and read, we will discover the truth. Of course, that means we will either knowingly lie, or we will state the truth. It will be our choice, just as it is our choice to go about our lives blindly or seek the truth.
Jesus tells us there will be a whole lot of upheaval in this world, and that is just the beginning of birth pains. It is nowhere near the end. There is a long life ahead. He also states that no one knows when the end will come. Perhaps we should listen to His truth and stop listening to the false rumors going around.
I pray we all verify what we hear and read. I pray we seek the truth. I pray each one of us will decide to stop lying, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Seek the truth. Stop worrying about the hearsay. Follow Jesus’ guidance. Trust Jesus. Trust God.
Mark 13:5-8 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.”
Marty Pressey 