“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” We all grew up hearing that from our moms after some bully kid said something to us on the playground that hurt our feelings. As we got older, what we discovered was that learning to have a thick skin, take criticism from trusted advisors and ignore the rest serves us well. However, back then and today, we know that words do hurt. Words from the right source can build up and break down. In fact, the Bible tells us as much in Proverbs 18:21 - The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
I guess that is why we should choose our words wisely, as we don’t know the power we have over others. This all makes sense in light of recent events in the “word of the year” judgment of dictonary.com and NPR. These two major sources study the culture to determine which words have had the most impact on society as a whole. According to one story by these outlets the words selected were as follows. In 2016, it was “post-truth.” In 2017, it was “fake news.” This year (2018), misinformation
https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2018/misinformation-is-dictionary-coms-word-of-the-year/#:~:text=This year, misinformation is the word of the,role of technology platforms in spreading fakery online.
In 2019 it was 'Disinformation' https://www.npr.org/2019/12/30/790144099/disinformation-is-the-word-of-the-year-and-a-sign-of-what-s-to-come
Over four years later, our culture continues to be shaped by creative ways to lie and deceive people. This morning we woke up to the news that the government attempted to censor social media to control the narrative concerning COVID. CNBC reports Mark Zuckerberg in a letter he wrote to the House Judiciary Committee : “In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree.” https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/27/zuckerberg-alleges-white-house-pressured-meta-to-censor-covid-19-content.html It is really telling when websites like the Babylon Bee, a known satire site, is censored, as Zuckerberg complied with the government. https://babylonbee.com/plans?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=bombshell
Sad how one side screams “misinformation” when they simply disagree, but will purposely promote an all-out lie when it benefits them. The government knows the power of words, so they sought to censor those that disagreed with them, and it worked. People blindly follow what they see on TV and hear from those in authority.
This all goes to explain why we are finding that self-prescribed “evangelicals” are not really evangelical at all. George Barna has released new data that “reveals the limitations of Christian evangelicalism in American society.” In his latest release he writes: “The events from recent years have caused “millions of Americans to realize just how depraved American society has become. Corrupt politicians, dishonest journalists and media outlets, broken social institutions, immoral religious leaders, unconstitutional government programs and policies, and more, have generated non-stop headlines highlighting the decadence of American society and the demise of the United States. The report goes on, “The depth of the depravity is shocking” and that it’s “indisputable” that the “decline is a direct result of the spiritual collapse of Christianity in the nation”—particularly the way in which the evangelical community has changed over time.” According to Barna, not only are there fewer evangelicals than some reports have claimed there to be, but many of them “are far less biblical in their thinking … and tend to vote in far fewer numbers than expected.” https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CRC-Release-AWVI-4-Aug-6-2024-Fourth-Draft.pdf
On a Youtube episode of “Washington Watch,” former Rep. Jody Hice interviews Barna about the research and stated, “this also strongly suggests that evangelicals are more likely to be shaped by the culture around them than they are to influence or evangelize it.” These results are “devastating,” he said. And it begs several questions: What led to this? What does it say about the current church? And what is the way forward? Barna agreed and said of those who are not living the life of a Christian evangelical, “I’m not saying [they’re] a lost cause or they’re bad people, but there’s a lot of misinformation in the minds and hearts of people who, even when you define them theologically as evangelicals, they’re not buying into what the Bible teaches and they’re not living it out. This comes in conflict with the heart of what evangelicalism is supposed to do.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdRiEN2vf4
We are a culture that simply “takes the preacher’s word for it” instead of searching the Scriptures ourselves. This practice can be destructive when it comes to personal faith. People let us down, but the Bible does not. As we have experienced in recent days, some in political power will do anything to hold on to that power. They justify their deception as good for the whole, but no one likes to be lied to. When the world sees the hypocrisy of a few “well positioned” Christian influencers, it can have a devastating result on the Church as a whole. Words and actions together matter. We not only have to be more mindful of how we live our faith, but point others to the actual source of truth. Influencing this world for Jesus means putting into practice the words that He has shared with us, not simply posting a verse on social media.
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17
Serving the Savior,
Bro. Jonathan
I guess that is why we should choose our words wisely, as we don’t know the power we have over others. This all makes sense in light of recent events in the “word of the year” judgment of dictonary.com and NPR. These two major sources study the culture to determine which words have had the most impact on society as a whole. According to one story by these outlets the words selected were as follows. In 2016, it was “post-truth.” In 2017, it was “fake news.” This year (2018), misinformation
https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2018/misinformation-is-dictionary-coms-word-of-the-year/#:~:text=This year, misinformation is the word of the,role of technology platforms in spreading fakery online.
In 2019 it was 'Disinformation' https://www.npr.org/2019/12/30/790144099/disinformation-is-the-word-of-the-year-and-a-sign-of-what-s-to-come
Over four years later, our culture continues to be shaped by creative ways to lie and deceive people. This morning we woke up to the news that the government attempted to censor social media to control the narrative concerning COVID. CNBC reports Mark Zuckerberg in a letter he wrote to the House Judiciary Committee : “In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree.” https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/27/zuckerberg-alleges-white-house-pressured-meta-to-censor-covid-19-content.html It is really telling when websites like the Babylon Bee, a known satire site, is censored, as Zuckerberg complied with the government. https://babylonbee.com/plans?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=bombshell
Sad how one side screams “misinformation” when they simply disagree, but will purposely promote an all-out lie when it benefits them. The government knows the power of words, so they sought to censor those that disagreed with them, and it worked. People blindly follow what they see on TV and hear from those in authority.
This all goes to explain why we are finding that self-prescribed “evangelicals” are not really evangelical at all. George Barna has released new data that “reveals the limitations of Christian evangelicalism in American society.” In his latest release he writes: “The events from recent years have caused “millions of Americans to realize just how depraved American society has become. Corrupt politicians, dishonest journalists and media outlets, broken social institutions, immoral religious leaders, unconstitutional government programs and policies, and more, have generated non-stop headlines highlighting the decadence of American society and the demise of the United States. The report goes on, “The depth of the depravity is shocking” and that it’s “indisputable” that the “decline is a direct result of the spiritual collapse of Christianity in the nation”—particularly the way in which the evangelical community has changed over time.” According to Barna, not only are there fewer evangelicals than some reports have claimed there to be, but many of them “are far less biblical in their thinking … and tend to vote in far fewer numbers than expected.” https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CRC-Release-AWVI-4-Aug-6-2024-Fourth-Draft.pdf
On a Youtube episode of “Washington Watch,” former Rep. Jody Hice interviews Barna about the research and stated, “this also strongly suggests that evangelicals are more likely to be shaped by the culture around them than they are to influence or evangelize it.” These results are “devastating,” he said. And it begs several questions: What led to this? What does it say about the current church? And what is the way forward? Barna agreed and said of those who are not living the life of a Christian evangelical, “I’m not saying [they’re] a lost cause or they’re bad people, but there’s a lot of misinformation in the minds and hearts of people who, even when you define them theologically as evangelicals, they’re not buying into what the Bible teaches and they’re not living it out. This comes in conflict with the heart of what evangelicalism is supposed to do.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdRiEN2vf4
We are a culture that simply “takes the preacher’s word for it” instead of searching the Scriptures ourselves. This practice can be destructive when it comes to personal faith. People let us down, but the Bible does not. As we have experienced in recent days, some in political power will do anything to hold on to that power. They justify their deception as good for the whole, but no one likes to be lied to. When the world sees the hypocrisy of a few “well positioned” Christian influencers, it can have a devastating result on the Church as a whole. Words and actions together matter. We not only have to be more mindful of how we live our faith, but point others to the actual source of truth. Influencing this world for Jesus means putting into practice the words that He has shared with us, not simply posting a verse on social media.
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17
Serving the Savior,
Bro. Jonathan
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