The practice of deception seems so prevalent today, but it’s nothing new. In fact, it goes back to the Garden of Eden.
The crafty serpent engaged in conversation with Eve. His evil intent was to sow doubt about God with a simple question: Did God really say?
Like all other deception since, the intent was to manipulate people’s thinking, believing and behaviour.
In the beginning, God created a perfect world — perfect in its design, function, and purpose.
He charged Adam and Eve with the stewardship of this world and called them to obey him. The fall happened as a result of a strategy using blatant disinformation and a false promise.
We live in a broken world
The methods, the means, and the speed of communication today can make a lot of good things happen, or it can have a deadly impact, able to start a devastating chain of events, as we see too often in the news.
A person with an internet connection can send a message, true or false, that in minutes will reach millions of people and wield untold damage near and far.
As I prepared to write this article my attention was drawn to a news article with this headline: “Online misinformation fueled violence in a UK town where 3 children were killed”. This sparked and spread violence rapidly to other parts of the country.
A renowned social Psychologist recently published a book entitled Foolproof, the result of solid factual research and analyses. One section of the book focusses on this: “Why misinformation infects our minds and how we can build immunity”.
People make honest mistakes. Journalists make innocent mistakes. Disinformation, however, is misinformation coupled with some psychological intention to deceive or harm others.” He goes on to describe how that disinformation can be deployed even in the political realm to manipulate how people may vote when influenced by the “fake news”.
How shall we then live?
Messages of all kinds are bombarding adults and children. It’s a constant stream of information, misinformation and disinformation.
We need to remind ourselves that we live in a world with two kingdoms that will be in an ongoing conflict until Jesus returns.
The ways of the Kingdom of God are in stark contrast with the ways of this world. (2 Cor 10:3-5: Ephesians 6:10-13.) The only way to be unwavering in our thoughts, emotions and behaviours is to feed on God’s Word where his ways are made clear to us. This is how we will be able to stand firm, as Paul writes in Ephesians. Knowing and living in the truth that sets free not only builds faith but also builds immunity that protects us from disinformation.
Then, we must be alert, and watch and pray as Jesus instructs. (Luke 21: 36). We need to commit to walking closely with God in the midst of it all, lifting people to the throne of grace, and continually introducing people to the good news of God’s kingdom. The Finding the Hope booklet is a helpful resource for this, and as we often say, it’s so simple. You can pass the booklet along to someone or leave it somewhere to be discovered.
Let us encourage one another to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58) Let us maintain and build ourselves up in our most holy faith. (Jude 20-21) and think on the good and true things. (Philippians 4:8)
Jesus told his followers, “My kingdom is not of this world”. He gave this clarification to those early followers who wanted him to take over the local governments and restore everything to that order then and there. Until Jesus returns, his followers have a stewardship responsibility to be his humble servants and ambassadors, demonstrating a different way of thinking, believing and living. This is possible by his grace and through the power of the Holy Spirit within. We know that the one who is in us is greater than the one who is the world. (1 John 4:4)
Amidst the bombardment of misinformation and disinformation, we have the message of truth that stands forever and the way to eternal life with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let’s double down on spreading that information to everyone possible, everywhere possible, as quickly as possible.
From the beginning God said what he meant and meant what he said about all that pertains to life today and eternally. We never have to wonder, “did God really say?” What a precious treasure we have in this inspired book we call the Bible.