Where Did the Truth Go?
Not long ago if someone was interested in learning facts about a contemporary situation, be it an accident on a local roadway or an event happening halfway across the world, all one had to do was turn on the television broadcast for one of the three major news networks – ABC, CBS, or NBC. Then Ted Turner founded CNN, Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes founded Fox News, and now we have Sky News, Al Jazeera, MSNBC, CNBC, Bloomberg Television, ESPNews... the list is almost endless.
But even before the age of the 24-hour news cycle, long before Tom Brokaw hosted NBC Nightly News, Dan Rather hosted CBS Evening News, or Peter Jennings reigned on ABC, we had David Brinkley, Barbara Walters, and Walter Cronkite. Heck, we could even get solid news and clearly articulated opinion pieces from the likes of Paul Harvey, Charles Kuralt, or Bill Moyers.
Today we get Don Lemon and Steve Doocy. Dan Rather has even buried his formerly shining career as a top notch newsman for the spotlight of a Liberal Twitter Opine. Seriously, if one wants news "without spin" we need to be present when the event occurs. Otherwise, every news outlet in the business today injects opinion without care for the damage to their reputation. And I'm not even talking about the thousands of newspapers and websites that call themselves news outlets. I mean, even the term "outlet" describes their primary purpose – to sell something cheaper than retail. And they're not selling news.
As a Christian I find it disheartening that the loudest voices are those being broadcast regardless of the veracity of their content. But I also find it somewhat comforting.
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Tim 3:1-7, KJV)
As Timothy reminds us, in these last days we will be bombarded with knowledge, but that knowledge will be devoid of truth. It is almost like we humans have set ourselves back hundreds of years by advancing so quickly. In the age before instant information gratification from the Internet, the television, even radio, we were forced to rely on tried, tested sources of truth. Now, we seem too interested in hearing sweet nothing in our ears to care that the knowledge without truth is corrupting our minds.
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but having itching ears, they shall heap to themselves teachers in accordance with their own lusts." (2 Tim 4:3, KJV)
I guess what I am saying, Reader, is that whether or not we are living in the "last days" we bear a responsibility to hold accountable those who lie to us and call it truth. Whether from the pulpit, the Twitterverse, the television or the Web, don't just take what you hear at face value regardless of who is talking. Don't just trust your brother because he tells you to. Don't just follow the talking heads because they vote the same way you do. Don't just shake your head, raise your hand and say "Amen" because you agree with what you hear. Test it. Prove it true before you believe it.
"Test all things; hold fast what is good." (1 Thes 5:21, KJV)
The alternative is to be a lemming. The alternative is less than Christ deserves.
"Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Gal 1:10)
– Mark Klages is an influential contributor, a former US Marine and a lifelong teacher who focuses on applying a Christian worldview to everyday events. Mark blogs at https://maklagesl3.wixsite.com/website under the title "God Provides where Hate Divides," with a heart to heal social, political, relational, and intellectual wounds through God's divine love and grace. Mark can also be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-klages-04b42511/.