“So then, putting away falsehood, let each of you speak the truth with your neighbor, for we are members of one another.” Ephesians 4:25 (NRSV)
Recently, I was reviewing the gifts of the Spirit that Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians. He included such gifts as healing, prophecy, discernment, and several others. However, there were two that I did not see: Gullibility and dishonesty. I say this because I have noticed an uptick in Christians sharing things online that they seemingly agree with and believe, but that are proven untrue with a minimal amount of fact checking. When I see these posts, I just shake my head and whisper a prayer for all of us to do better.
And we must do better.
Bearing false witness (better known as lying) has become an epidemic within the church. I wish I could explain it, but I can’t beyond our human frailty. We see someone express outrage about something that’s supposedly an act of persecution or we see something outlandish about someone we either don’t like or don’t understand and we simply run with it. The outrage of the opening ceremony of the Parish Olympics and the bruhaha over Algerian boxer Imane Khelif are prime examples of people seeing something online that confirms their biases and spreading it like it’s gospel even though the facts don’t back up the assertions made.
I intentionally seek relationships with people who have different views than I do, even differing views of faith. What Christians need to understand is that the perception of those outside of the Body of Christ is that Christians are gullible and/or just plain stupid. Unfortunately, there is a lot to back up those views that we inflict upon ourselves.
I remind us that lying is a sin, as is stirring up discord among people. The fact is, we need to take a breath, pray, get into our bibles, and stop looking for reasons to be mad all the time. God doesn’t need us to defend Him, especially from threats that don’t exist in the first place. Our job is to love, not to fight. We can’t make disciples of Jesus Christ if we’re always mad and ranting about something. We can’t make people want to love God as much as God loves them when we’re claiming persecution from someone disagreeing with us or from a portion of an opening ceremony that isn’t portraying what someone claims it is.
Have you noticed that much of this outrage stems from just one person seeing something (that often isn’t even there in the first place) and lashing out online? They go viral because people started sharing the material without giving it an ounce of critical thought. We’re so quick to be mad just because someone says we should be mad. If this is you, perhaps it’s time to reevaluate how you spend your time online.
Does this seem ironic given my advocacy for digital ministry? I don’t believe it is. I often tell people that social media can be compared to a hammer. A hammer is a tool that can be used to build houses or smash windows. Likewise, social media can be used to build positivity and make disciples, or it can be used to lash out and rip people to shreds. I’ve had to reevaluate how I use social media, and I’ve changed a lot of my habits because I realized that they were harming my witness. If I can do it, anyone can.
When you share misinformation, when you lie, when you ridicule people, you’re harming your witness. You’re harming the cause of Christ.
Misinformation can get people hurt or killed. We saw that during the COVID-19 pandemic and we’re seeing it today with the riots in the United Kingdom that stem from misinformation about asylum seekers being shared online.
What if something you shared led to someone being harmed?
Christians, we need to do better. We must do everything we can to further the cause of Christ and to stem the tide of our anger. We must tell the truth, even if the truth isn’t what we want. We simply cannot be complicit in this strife any longer.
Experience tells me that anything that sounds outlandish typically is. Fact checking isn’t “woke,” it’s ensuring that we are telling the truth. Let’s resolve to do better, to be better witnesses for Christ, and to have the integrity to apologize when we’re wrong.