“Do you see someone who is hasty in speech? There is more hope for a fool than for anyone like that.” Proverbs 29:20 (NRS)
So I don’t know if you heard, but the News is reporting that other countries have been using Facebook to inflame US citizens against each other with racist and anti-religious ads that look like news stories. This divisive tactic is an old one that has found a new platform in social media. According to Historians, this has been a favorite tactic for various countries and empires through the centuries to help divide and exploit their enemies. They also argue that Russia has for almost a century tried to use the racial tensions in the U.S. as a political tool to disrupt and divide.
Will we ever learn?
It is so easy to get caught up in every wind and wave that comes across our screens. We can find it difficult to filter through information and intentionally framed narratives that constantly push and pull us in whatever direction will cause us frustration and anger. Social media pounds our minds with information that can be funny, captivating, humiliating, but is often framed in a way to incite.
Christians and fellow disciples be wary, be cautious, be thoughtful the next time you think about forwarding on information that will incite and anger others. Many times I have written very passionate responses to some of today’s “winds and waves” only to pause, walk away from my computer, and rethink my role as a Christian. It is not our job to “verbally” stand opposed to what we hear or what we are led to see as true especially when quite often the information that we have isn’t the full picture. It’s immature and judgmental to speak out about something that you have only just heard.
“We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.” Ephesians 4:14 (NRS)
It is our job to speak truth in love and act on truth. So next time you feel the need to share a story in haste because you are angry and want to anger others, know Russia, China or some other group bent on inciting people against each other may have just used you in a moment of immaturity to further divide God’s people.