Hey Friends,

I wrote the post below in 2021, but the issue is ongoing. If we aren’t careful we are going to lose the First Amendment. Censorship, disregard for life and a slew of other issues I care deeply about are on the ballot. I do not take for granted that I have a say in the process — voted today in fact. Hideous angle on a beautiful day, but it documents our tropical “I voted” stickers.

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Has your automobile passenger ever gotten you a speeding ticket? I realize it sounds improbable, maybe even impossible, but it happened. A few weeks ago Will and I left Raleigh, North Carolina at the crack of dawn to drive back to Chattanooga. He drove the first shift. I took over around 8 a.m. On Saturday mornings Will loves to watch English Premier League soccer, and so I sailed through the mountains of North Carolina while he watched soccer.

We were passing through Asheville when I noticed a navy blue Dodge Charger on my right. It occurred to me that it could be an unmarked police officer. I asked Will to look and see if it was a cop. I pulled up next to the car. Will examined the driver and confirmed it was not. I accelerated on by.

About 60 seconds later I exclaimed, “It WAS a cop!”

“How do you know?” Will asked.

“Because he’s pulling me over!”

If you pull up next to a cop, have your passenger stare them down and then pass on by, that’s a foolproof recipe for a speeding ticket. You need not even be going way over the posted limit.

Talk about misinformation: Nah, that’s not a cop.

He was in full uniform, including a wide-brimmed trooper hat. But we make mistakes. It’s part of being human. The idea that we can eliminate misinformation is a scary premise. Do you think there’s a group of people who should decide which narrative is the truth for you? Even if we could assume pure motives, which of course we can’t, people are flawed. The human who most cherishes me, who is most invested in my happiness and well-being, made a costly mistake. He’s the best-case-scenario and yet still capable — rare as it may be — of giving me misinformation.

Shouldn’t we just want information and acknowledge some of it is good and some bad? News outlets are mostly propaganda machines, spewing lie after lie. Government officials and organizations likewise are increasingly unreliable. So-called “experts” are even worse. It almost feels like the truth is unknowable.

But alas it’s not that dire. The Truth is a Person and His name is Jesus. He is the same yesterday today and forever. And He loves you.

We also have Bibles. We can compare the information of the day with the eternal truth of God’s Word. Do you do that? Do you pray for discernment? Do you assume the information you are given is true? Or do you filter it through a biblical lens? We are made in God’s image and we can reason through things. I find it astounding how people don’t even ask the most obvious of questions. They just accept the narrative.

Let’s take even the simplest example. In 2020, a universe changing discovery was made: cloth masks stop respiratory viruses.

Think about that. We put men on the moon fifty years before the virus stopping cloth mask was “invented”? It defies credulity. That would be like the iPhone coming before the wheel. Yet it would seem many have accepted this misinformation as truth without batting an eye.

But no matter the topic, thoughtful questions can quickly reveal nuances. Unexamined, surface- level analysis will never lead to wisdom and it doesn’t even seem the intent. The intent is more like “Here’s what you need to believe. No data nor discussion required. No questions allowed. Oh, but here’s a new show on Netflix. Enjoy.”

In the 21st Century, the unquestioning passivity of the masses is easily accomplished. But we weren’t made to live like that. As image-bearers we are called to much more.

How can you use your knowledge and intellect to ask good questions? How can you discern between good and bad information? How can you resist the scare tactics of authoritarianism? How can you use your God-given gifts to serve your community? Ponder these always applicable verses, and have a fabulous and discerning weekend.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3:16-17‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:33‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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What are some 2024 examples of “misinformation”? In the aftermath of the horrific destruction from Hurricane Helene, President Biden remarked that some people think the government controls the weather. What do you think about that? I have no idea the extent to which the weather is modified, but I think it’s beyond absurd to think no one is trying to influence the weather. Think about how brainwashed you’d have to be to believe that we send people into space, we can communicate instantaneously with anyone anywhere via video, we have been transplanting human organs since the 1950’s, but nope, no one has ever tried to modify weather. Yet that appears to be the official narrative despite easily accessible evidence to the contrary. I hope you’ve noticed that the “narrative” often has zero basis in fact, much less logic. Praying for revival to break out in our country and around the world.

With Love,

Kristie