Proverbs 17:13 Whoever rewards evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.
At the beginning of the pandemic, public opinion had our courageous nurses at the top of the popularity meter. However, within a short time, the same public opinion group was protesting and cursing these same overworked, vulnerable, and tired health servants. This obnoxious public voice was trying to make our nurses the new social outcasts that we are supposed to hate. If these same protesters had been born two thousand years earlier, they would have been the ones shouting, “Hosanna” as Jesus rode a donkey into the city of Jerusalem, only to turn around and scream, “Crucify Him” days later. Public opinion can be fickle and cruel.
Since when have we, as a society, modelled our lives to the standards of public opinion? How did the gospel of public opinion become the go-to training manual for living in this scornful world? The cesspool of thought that public opinion contains is an offensive stench that has no value for establishing any integral standard of good living practices. The mercurial nature of public opinion is in itself unable to find any level of forthright behaviour because it sways with the voice of discontent and the confusion of dysfunction. Public opinion’s foundations are nothing more than toxic slurry and quicksand, resulting in a dark mass of ugliness.
Mark Twain said, “A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is lacing up its boots.” Online statistics (if they can be trusted) state that conspiracy theories and lies that public opinion is built upon will spread six times faster on social media platforms than the truth will. This would also explain why there is no way these online web giants are going to stop this type of online posting because it is such a large part of their revenue stream. Every level of government can drag all the CEOs of these mega-web platform companies before all kinds of congressional panels and grill the life out of them, and still, it will make no difference to the content posted. There is just too much money to be made with online falsities. Prov. 17:13 Whoever rewards evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.
Why is it easier to believe the fabrications of public opinion than the truth? I believe, the truth often contains a moral substance that can be hard to follow, and since the character of mankind is weak and sinfully flawed, the lie is easier to digest, even though it tastes bad. Rom. 1:24a So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. Therefore, we have to become the gatekeepers to what we allow into our hearts. We should be asking the Holy Spirit what the truth of the matter is so that we can proceed in confidence.
If we are to overcome the storms and influences of public opinion, we are going to have to become secure in our souls by being established on the solid ground of God’s word. The only solid foundation that does not buckle under pressure is the ground held by the Rock of Ages. Jesus said that we should build our house on a rock so we could weather the storms of life and every lie that the world throws at us. Matt. 7:24 Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Wisdom is building our lives on what God says rather than unproven conspiracies. Eph. 4:14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. God has never lied to us and never will. It is not in His character nor His heart to do so. Jesus said that He is the truth, and truth acted upon will set us free. If you have aligned yourself with a false public belief that has bound your mind and heart, then it is time to seek the truth and be set free to become who God created you to be. John 8:32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
We were not created to become a mouthpiece for the lies the enemy has promoted in this life. We are not to encourage the vitriol of public opinion. We are to be a voice of wisdom and calm in the turbulent storms that are taking place in this world. Let us bring the wisdom of the Holy Spirit into the harshness that surrounds us on all sides. God’s truth and blessing be upon us all. Amen!
Amen!