Bad Information

By Pontificus Minimus

“The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading.”  —  Lamentations 2:14.

Photo by The Delta Bohemian

STATEMENT: Bad information can lead to distress, destruction, and dismay as surely as a tornado can uproot a thriving city.

QUESTION: What and who are our modern-day prophets?

STATEMENT: False prophets of old, similar to the modern-day, over-churched charlatans, told people what they wanted to hear, even if it was false. Beware the modern soothsayers, who tell of things to come, yet speak not God’s words. Listen to the still, small voice of God, who does not always speak with thunder, as do His false prophets.

Our prophets today speak of tolerance as the prime virtue one can manifest. Tolerance is a necessary ingredient in the recipe for being human, but it has not always served good people or governments well when dealing with tyrants; nor has tolerance served us well when looking at our own weaknesses, sins, and selfish desires. I am entirely too intolerant of others who fall short, but entirely too tolerant of my own shortcomings.

The government, business world, entertainment industry, and self-help gurus have given us a plethora of bad advice for right living. Listen to the public and private voices that encourage us to be more others-centered and consecrated at the same time. These voices can likely be trusted. Words that can be trusted will edify the listener while still telling him or her how to be a better person.

QUESTION: Are we any different than the Children of Israel, who were led into captivity–hardcore slavery–on more than one occasion, due to their “not living right?”

STATEMENT: Biblical prophets speaking “on their own” did not give sound, danger-avoiding advice to God’s children, who often didn’t want it anyway. We are not so different today. We seek those who tell us what we want to hear. We want to be seen as successful, and in fact, we too often measure our self worth and overall holistic health–mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually–based on what we accumulate and how we are seen in the eyes of others.

“The more we consume the happier we are” is a false assumption leading God’s children to the brink of depression and dissatisfaction. The more we get the less we appreciate and the more we expect.

QUESTION: If the secular world operates often on a parallel with the spiritual, then will bad information given in the name of the state or commerce have a deleterious effect on those destined to listen to it?

STATEMENT: In America and many other countries worldwide, government has taken over the role of the church and the family in raising, educating, and shaping children. Government too often plays Big Brother, telling us everything is going to be okay if we will but trust it. We can have everything we want if we will give our money, trust, and children to those wiser than us. This is false. Government does not know best. Nor do we!

QUESTION: Then, what are we to do? Who are we to listen to? How are we to then live?

STATEMENT: Living according to time-tested, God-approved, Biblical mandates and proverbs is a great place to start dealing with self and others. If we exist, then we have purpose. We are wonderfully made, inherently possessing a seed of non-selfishness intent. Our biology, complicated array of emotions, ability to think critically, and desire and understanding of universal order all should lead us to seek good, external information to accompany our inherent understanding of who we are in relation to God and others. Seek the Truth and it will set us free to be the folks God intends for us to be! Carpe diem!

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