In the information age and with the advent of AI, what is written might be misleading. Wouldn’t that also be true even if it wasn’t the information age?
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Ephesians 4:14 NIV
Watching the way the world has changed in the past few years, you do have to wonder what the overall maturity or emotional intelligence is in the US. Are we advancing, or are we declining?
This verse suggests that kids get to change their minds all the time. That’s what they do. They react to the stimulus, and in time they adjust. Heck, they might even have an entirely new thought.
But how about us? Are we too quickly swayed by what we read or hear these days? We are so bombarded by things we may be persuaded. I believe there is a statement that says, “A lie repeated often enough becomes an implied truth.”
Where have we witnessed this? Doesn’t modern marketing try to persuade us by repeating the messages we hear? Doesn’t the entertainment industry also do this? I would even say the “God product” folks, which include most modern mega-churches, do this as well. Keep repeating things, keep using the exact words, the same formula, and you break through to people.
Remember the pandemic? But didn’t we get bombarded by having to have a mask covering our faces? Didn’t we learn that the efficacy of that mask was not what was initially thought? However, you say it often enough or perhaps do not provide as much insight, and well, I am just saying.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t challenge and even suggest that what we once knew isn’t true. However, what I am saying is that we need to be resolute. We need to be discerning. We need to understand that we are being manipulated and be on guard for that. Seek truth and not some manipulated version of it.
The devil is the master of deception. If he cannot destroy you, he will distract you. Why? The more you aren’t centered and connected to God, the more you allow him the opportunity to install or activate a stronghold. They are like weeds and are invasive.
Think about that for a second. It is effortless to complain about things or to point out what isn’t right about something. We look for that one thing or the many things that aren’t right. We neglect the bigger picture. Imagine you got asked to look at something and are asked to point out all the things right that you see instead of pointing out the three things wrong with the picture.
We often look past what is right to find what is wrong.
In our political climate and with the information age, where everybody seems to have a platform, we can easily be tossed back and forth on things in this world that will drive us a little crazy. Plus, if we don’t get purposeful with that time with God, we will find that God lost out to something genuinely unworthy.
I want us to take heart the words in the verse and remember we are no longer kids. But, we do need to be careful to be so locked down in a thought we are not open to a new way of seeing things. After all, didn’t Jesus provide us with a new way when many couldn’t see it?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help us understand when we are like a child in our thinking. Help us see just how cunning and divisive our world can be. Help us focus on you and avoid the distractions that take us away. Thank you for the words shared and for your constant reminders that you love us. Please help us be compassionate to those around us. Guide us with your Word and the people we are surrounded by. Please keep us, our families, and friends safe. We pray this in the name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
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