Certainly, everything you read on the Internet is true. Right?
Everything you read on Facebook and other social media is the truth. Right?
Everything a politician says is the truth. Right?
I think not!
Too often, what we read or hear as truth is merely opinion. Look at the spins of Fox News and CNN as examples. Someone uses words to point out the errors of a presidential candidate with an attempt to make that candidate look bad.
Facts don’t matter, because some people are good at twisting the facts just enough to cause upheaval.
Or, someone uses fancy words to sway another person. For example: “So-and-So MATRICULATED at a certain college!” Sounds like a horrible thing, but “matriculated” simply means “enrolled.” Is that so horrible? Nope.
Opinions are expressed about health care, gun control, climate change, human sexuality and religion.
Too often, people will only believe what they want to believe. Too often, people let themselves be swayed by charismatic personalities.
Whom do you believe? What do you believe?
To quote a theme from a recently resurrected television show, “The truth is out there.” And, as far as I’m concerned, “out there” is not the Internet. It is not social media.
The truth is the gospel of Jesus Christ. When you read what Jesus taught, when you put it in its proper perspective, when you allow his words to wash over your heart, mind, and soul, you find the truth he spoke.
The truth he spoke is alive today. Sure, his words sometimes get twisted by ill-intentioned persons, but that does not alter the truth that remains.
My recommendation to you is, read the scriptures without preconceived ideas or prejudices. Ask God to reveal his truth to you.
Whom do you believe?
I suggest you believe God, not the Internet — because God will always tell it to you straight.
The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BROADHEAD: 'The truth is out there' — in Heaven