Your words matter eternally

Guess what? The pollical season is here again, and as it comes, so does the slander. It seems that politics brings out the worst in all of us.

Suddenly good church going folk forget their moral compass and slander their neighbor or political leader without a second thought.

Many people will confidently feel like they regularly follow the ten commandments, easily living without the need for wooden idols or adultery. Instead, they easily forget the ninth commandment: “Thou Shall Not Bear False Witness.”

Facebook makes it so easy to break the ninth. It doesn’t matter what political party you are a part of, or which way you lean; many mindlessly forward awful messages we get about the politician or celebrity simply because we dislike them.

While the role of criticism in politics is important, it’s absolutely vital to fact-check a biased headline or article before sharing it.

A few months back a friend of mine forwarded me a note on messenger about a particular issue or politician.

There was something about the message that didn’t seem quite right, even though I thought the same politically, so I did some research. To be clear, not just one site, but looked through several sources to check its validity.

As I suspected, the information in the message was a blatant lie. I came back to him later and asked him if he had double checked it before forwarding the message on. He said no, but a very Godly and knowledgeable relative sent it to him so he trusted it and sent it on.

I am sure that most of us don’t want to pass on falsehoods, however it can be easy to do. I think this quote may help us when we are about to share something we shouldn’t.

“There are three gates through which we ought to require an evil tale to pass before we pass it on. In the first place, Is it true? In the second place, Is it necessary? In the third place, Is it kind? There are few evil reports which can stand the test of those three gates: Is it true? Is it necessary that it be repeated? Is it kind? Christ says that in the day of judgment we shall all give an account of the words that we have spoken. How careful, then, we ought to be, and how we ought to take heed to our ways, that we sin not with our tongue. Who wants to know, in the day of judgment, that instead of helping another he hurt him and wounded him?” -unknown

Let me be clear, I am not suggesting we should all be quiet.

Instead, we need to speak the truth with an abundance of love. 1 Cor 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” ESV

Also 1 Cor. 13:1 makes it clear that no matter your intentions, if you are not motivated by love what you are saying is worthless. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

I believe while most intentions are pure, in your attempt to share what you deem as righteousness don’t do the devil’s bidding. Do everything in love, and make sure the things you are passing on to others are true.