In the middle of the afternoon, Friday, September 25, 2015, I saw a post on Face Book reminding us about Daughter Day. Not wanting to be a Daughter Day slacker i reeled off a love post about our daughter Liz Carpenter. Dozens followed suit. Then, I discovered Daughter Day was actually August 11. Better late than sorry? No, better to get my facts right!
Then, there are the human dynamics. The bandwagon effect, herd behavior, the snowball effect, and groupthink to mention a few. Evidently few of us want to be on the edges of life, the last to know, or the ones to miss the latest. During the past month or so many of us have been caught in the traffic of well-traveled trends, urban legends, and the latest fads, including Daughter Day. Just this week there's been some frenzy about the blood moon apocalypse prophesies and changes in Face Book policies supposedly verified by a newspaper special interest feature. Today, there are dozens of parodies of these posts poking fun at our eagerness to believe and share just about anything. There's some humor in it and I've taken some pokes about being so eager to join the Daughter Day frenzy. Underneath the winks and nods is something about our culture we'd as soon pass off with another wink and nod: our rush to hit the share button is very selective. We're into peripheral urgencies while the really important stuff lingers in the draft file.
The mechanics of human priority systems are layered.
1. There's uncertainty about our qualifications to address certain issues.
Take the Planned Parenthood video clips for example. Most of us experienced
horror at what we saw and heard on those films. Even if obtained undercover
they spoke of unimaginable acts that shocked most viewers. Beyond
occasional re-posts, however, most of us couldn't articulate with accuracy
the procedures that were depicted or any statistics regarding abortion in
America. As a result, we've been mostly silent.
2. Most Christians cannot and will not speak about spiritual truth.
A recent study by LifeWay indicates that 80% of Southern Baptists believe it is
our responsibility to share faith with others but 61% have never done so. It's
an interesting read with a number of other spiritual trends substantiated by
numerical research. If you're interested you can read about it right here.
3. The Christian mind should process misinformation on a different level.
When the Apostle Paul wrote, "But we have the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians
2:16) he was contrasting the way the world thinks with Christian thought and
the level of comprehension of spiritual truth afforded to believers. We must
tread softly so that we don't overstate our position to engage world thought.
But, there is God's wisdom and we should be able to ask for it and bring it to
decision processes and how we receive information and communicate it.
4. Christians should abstain from babble and empty talk.
Hey, I'm talking to the man in the mirror on this one. Harriet says I have
rose-colored glasses and tend to believe what I read before checking it
out. I've evidence this week that this is a large club. I may be the lead guy
here, so I'm talking to me first in this deal.
But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness,
and their talk will spread like gangrene.
2 Timothy 2:16-17, ESV
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good
for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29, ESV
5. Christians should have a built-in truth meter.
Hey, who doesn't have feet of clay? We're certainly fallible, and gullible, and
all the rest of the human weaknesses. But, Christ lives in us. Truth should be
our guide.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth,
for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he
will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
John 16:13, ESV
Do I feel foolish for my quick draw response to the Daughter Day post? Yes, somewhat. We love our daughter and will take every opportunity to let her and the world know her special place in our lives. But, what if I had gone on record about something with deep spiritual import or something that may have alarmed other believers or created havoc within the body? Here's the point: use snopes.com and fastfacts.com to verify the latest juice. Being informed is a good discipline and witness to a cynical world.
Now, about National Coffee Day. It's everyday, right? No, that was September 29, 2015. I can assure you, I didn't miss that one.
P.S.- About the Blood Moon Apocalypse---
But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only
Matthew 24:36, ESV
He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the
Father has fixed by his own authority.
Acts 1:7, ESV
BTW-Today is National Fire Pup Day and National Homemade Cookies Day.