How Do You Demonstrate Your Honesty When Wrong?

How Do You Demonstrate Your Honesty When Wrong?

How Do You Demonstrate Your Honesty When Wrong?

We are a divided and polarized culture. You have heard this over and over.

So as a Christian are you contributing to this division?

Are you so sure of YOUR facts or position that you are willing to fight over it either verbally or physically?

If you are on social media, chances are you are expressing views that you would not say to someone’s face. And as Pastor Tony Evans recently pointed out in this article (link) Christians are just as vitriolic on social media as anyone else. That of course is not the example we as salt and light are asked by our Lord to show to the world.

Insisting on your version of facts—or, for that matter, one’s view of political or social realities—is itself self-focused individualistic, and prideful. We’re instead called to “put off falsehood and speak truthfully,” recognizing that “we are all members of one body” (Eph. 4:25).

So are you right now living under Christ’s Lordship?

Social media affects people differently, depending on pre-existing conditions and personality traits.

As with food, gambling, and many other temptations of the modern age, excessive use of social media for some individuals is no doubt a bad thing.

Many issues contribute to our current situation, including loneliness, social media, the collapse of families, financial failures, identity politics, and public shaming. What we see now in the online world of social media is the loss of any sense of reality. Conspiracy theories nurtured in a virtual world of innuendo and imagination become real to many people. Many things are just outright lying and malicious gossip intended for harm and destruction.

There are no gatekeepers or validators in the online world who help hold to an ethic of truth.

It would be wrong to say social media is universally bad because clearly, it brings many benefits to our lives.

All of us are waiting for the world to change so we can change. Honesty and humility starts with us.

Our part in pursuing a reliable ethic of truth, starts with us committing to generous dialogue with others over contestable facts, while at the same time insisting on the importance of accurately conveying indisputable ones. And when we get facts wrong (as sometimes happens with hasty words or insufficient research), we can and should show humility by admitting fault and by showing grace to others who admit their own mistakes.

#extraordinarygod