Friends? Scholars? Gifted speakers, writers, media pundits from whatever "side" of any issue? Did our parents (either one of them) "get it right"? Hmmmm...
Who are our influencers -and whom do we seek to influence and why? Important questions!
I find many people lack commitment to dig, study, pray, really consider not only two but three and four approaches to any particular argument. That doesn't mean ANY of them are fully wrong or fully right. Often there's a mashup of solid and thin reasons we are moved to believe anybody. That's not only on them but also on us.
The sad fact is as Paul wrote Timothy (2 Tim. 4.4, 5) "For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths."
Each of us including myself, must take the hard and often minority or narrow road to not only seek out truth but our own motives which are often tainted. Of course we all want whatever it is we wish to be true to actually BE true. And also of course, that doesn't make it true. Myths abound.
I use the internet a lot daily. Same as tv, radio and author pundits I learned long ago the hard and needful work of getting as close to facts- like or hate 'em- as I can isn't always fun. We don't always find in honest research what we had hoped to find.
Again, any of us may be hard-core sincere yet when we communicate to others and even in our own heads/self-talk be simply shining our own wishes more than a genuine faith in facts as opposed to what Bonhoeffer called "wish dreams".
Therefore even believing yourself, your own mind on X, Y or Z takes a hit sometimes -or should.
By the way, if you think Paul's comment to Timothy (2 Tim. 3.7) relates exclusively to women only and not also men, you've missed the boat on "...who are always being instructed and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth." The scriptural context is clear but male humility on this isn't always so!
I often think people pass over "sound doctrine" as something to care about yet the point is that "myths" vs. reality is what they end up believing. Comfort doesn't mean we're always correct, and when we seek God via His Word above our own or the words of others my faith is in getting close to Him as possible and allowing the Spirit Who "breathed" scripture to mold and shape our thoughts rather than pundits who continually seek our attention, often money and professional advancement by telling us what we want to hear.
Consider, I haven't even touched on the massive, humongous armies of cyber-lying bots from a long list of governments around the world, the wild-west shootout of our times that being propaganda and gain vs. actual truth and reality. "Hey, if you want to believe myths we'll help you along, spread chaos and you'll buy into it". Modern myths grow like the cancer they are.
So my friends, remember: 2 Timothy 3.16, 17 "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work."
As always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn
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