Believe Every Word?
Good Morning,
Proverbs 14:15 “The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.”
Romans 16:18 “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."
Consider the number of recorded Bible stories in which someone got into trouble because they believed what they heard rather than verifying the facts. We might start with Eve; she caused a few problems when she believed the tempter’s words. In addition, there were those who believed the idea that building a tower could reach Heaven. I wonder what they thought they would do then? Once the giant tower was built, who really wants to climb it? Who wants to live up that high? What good will it do? Without considering these questions, someone conceived the idea, and everyone jumped on the bandwagon (as many people do when they see something on social media.) Abraham listened to Sara and took Hagar as his wife; this decision brought about endless hurt through the Arab race. Isaac listened to his mother and deceived his father and that advice did not develop into anything worth while (and those illustrations were found in the first few dozen chapters of Genesis).
The point is, a prudent man listens, thinks, acquires facts, and determines if the situation is any of his business. If not, he ignores the words because they are simply unfounded or the actions of a busybody.
Let me give you an example. An older man had been missing from church for a few weeks. Another man came to me and said that the missing gentleman was angry with me about something. In foolishness, I believed what I was told and ignored the missing man. After a week or two, I felt I had to see him. Stopping by his house, he came to the door and began to tear up that I cared enough to come visit him. The man's elderly father had moved into his home and fallen. He had been forced to find help and on and on. You can imagine just how overwhelmed he was. He was so thankful his pastor cared enough to come by. Oftentimes, people say things that are LIES, mistaken impressions, or misinformed opinions.
Proverbs 14:15 "The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.”
Do not believe everything you read or hear, even if the information you hear is from family or friends. I was verbally accosted by a man about how a situation was handled at church, the issue was not momentous, but it did need a response. I was chastised, scolded, and rebuked. Then I explained that when the event occurred, I was out of town for a few days, and the situation was handled by others. I had no involvement or information about the incident. The man simply ignored the facts and continued to scold me – before I even had a chance to research the facts of the situation.
Some people will believe what they hear, even if facts prove otherwise. Do not panic; if we think hard enough, we may also remember having done something like that before. Have some mercy and guard your response. It may be that emotions will calm and reason will return (or maybe not). Do not react to what you hear, and do not accept what is written in the news or social media as fact. (Have we not learned that lesson already in vibrant ways over the past few years?)
Romans 16:18 “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”
There are people who set themselves to deceive others. They plan their words, order their conversation, and have an agenda. Others want an excuse to be angry, to quit their job, to drop out of church, or to move across the country; when a fixed desire is in place, information becomes warped, stories are twisted, and details are bent to fit their narrative–and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. In their predetermined agenda, they will deceive others and cause much harm.
Have we all not read about propaganda from communist leaders such as Hitler and Stalin to our current socialist politicians?
Do not believe what you hear and read; at least have the prudence to look into the information. In reality, most of the deceitful things we hear do not even need to be researched: someone is angry at you, someone said mean things to you, someone does not like your child, or some disease is going to kill everyone so you must stay inside (you know the kind of statements that are made).
Proverbs 14:15 “The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.”
Do not believe every word, it may hurt more people than you think.
Pastor