(The following has been inspired by actual conversations with other Christians)

Have you ever stopped to think about how much stuff you believe that is not true?  The list may be short, but I guarantee you have a list.  The importance of those things will also very from completely irrelevant to eternal hell fire.  Now take a moment to consider what they are and how they effect your life?  Maybe not at all, maybe in making choices that impact where you live or what you do, perhaps in making decisions that will completely damage your future.  This may sound a little dramatic, but it’s true and I am going to explain how I think the Christian should face it and deal with it.  We live in a world where everyone has advice to offer.  With the emergence of the Internet, social media, cable/satellite television, satellite radio, added to old forms of information distribution such as magazines and books, there are no shortages of opinion.  Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, even this blog, are all putting forth opinion and we need to be strong in discernment so as not to be led astray.

I have believed my share of lies over the course of my life, and for good reason.  Lies about God, my family, friends, self, science, nutrition, health, and so much more.  Some of the lies I have in mind were taught to me in school, some were taught by people I trusted, some were popular myths of our culture, and some I just reasoned that they made sense.  There has also been a cost associated with these unchecked lies, not only in the form of money, but lost time, lost relationships, loss of stuff, loss of innocence and other areas.  White lies, malicious lies, lies of convenience, lies of ignorance, lies of avoidance, lies of dependence, you name it, we have invented all sorts of ways of not telling the truth.

Jesus said that “the truth will set you free.”  Most Christians are familiar with John 8:32, but the previous verse, John 8:31 is the key to verse 32 having any value whatsoever.

³¹ So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; ³² and then you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” – John 8:31-32

This passage is hugely important to the Christian.  Why?  Because true Christians desire to be true disciples and desire to be free of sin!  A main characteristic of being a true disciple is to continue in His Word, that is to say that we are to read His word, learn His word, and practice His word.  Then we will know the truth and the truth will set us free from sin (v.34).  A true disciple not only meditates on God’s word day and night, but delights in it to be a firmly planted tree (Psalm 1).

Okay, so far so good, right!  So what’s the problem?  The problem is when we begin to integrate worldly wisdom with the Wisdom of God, we exchange the truth of God for a lie.  When we begin to blur the lines of truth and fiction, that gradually moves our focus off of God to self and that moves us to start building our own kingdom while ignoring God’s kingdom.  In America, it is so important to be aware of this because it is very easy to let our pursuit of happiness take our eyes off of the pursuit of holiness.  So what does the Bible say about the wisdom of men.  In James 3:15, we are told that human wisdom is earthly, sensual and demonic.  That is to say 1) that in it’s earthliness, it is limited to human reason, 2) it is sensual or driven by our sinful or lustful desires and 3) demonic, inspired or influenced by our spiritual enemies who constantly strive to disrupt our communion with God, produce sin and destroy our faith.  The context of verse 13-17 contrasts the self-ambition of our hearts with wisdom from above that is pure and produces righteousness sown in peace.

When life happens and catches us off guard, our tendency is to go to some confidant that we rely on.  Most of us have that person (s) in our lives who will have some sort of answer for us.  That’s good, I am not discouraging that, however I am advocating that whatever you are told be held to the scrutiny of scripture.  We are supposed to counsel each other and comfort each other (2 Corinthians 1:3-6) but we are supposed to do it with scripture alone so that the peace of Christ will rule in our hearts to edify and comfort ourselves and those we share with (C0lossians 3:15-16).

In closing, it is my solemn desire that each person who identifies themselves as Christian, adopt the attitude and desire of the Bereans.  They did not ask if the things they were hearing were practical, if these things would work, if these things will make me feel better, if these things will take away my problem, they only asked if these things are so!  If the Bereans were bold enough to test the words of the Apostle Paul, we should have no trouble testing the words of those we trust, whether that be friends, family, pastors, counselors, talk radio, our president, whoever seeks to put thoughts in our mind must be subject to the Word of God:

Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

Acts 17:11

(Further reading: Psalm 119; Ecclesiastes 7; 1 Corinthians 1:18 – 2:16; Isaiah 55:8-11; Job 42:1-9)