The World’s Influence
This week it seemed like the whole world was trying to influence the public’s opinions on the Kyle Rittenhouse trial and the subsequent verdict. For anyone who took the time to watch the trial, it became obvious that the media lied often and repeatedly in their reporting of the events of August 25, 2020. Even after the trial, I watched NBC and ABC continue to spread the lies that Kyle crossed state lines with a gun (he did not), and that he broke various gun laws (again, he did not). We go to the news media to get quick and truthful information so that we can have informed opinions. However, what do we do when they intentionally lie for the sole purpose of bending our opinions to their collective will?
Do our Opinions Match God’s
Almost everyone had an opinion on the Kyle Rittenhouse matter, but how many of us consulted God’s word to make sure that our opinions matched God’s opinions? There are plenty of Bible verses regarding what is and isn’t self-defense. We also have the story of David and Goliath, where a teenage boy goes to the front lines of a battle to drop off some bread and cheese to his brothers and their commanding officer. He is instructed by his father to then immediately return home. When he arrives at the front lines, he isn’t welcomed by his brothers, his motives are questioned, and ultimately, he kills someone. This sounds like Kyle Rittenhouse’s actions and experience that fateful night in Kenosha. We know the media is lying to us to shape our opinions, but how many of us consulted this story to know what God’s word says on the matter?
The Lens of Scripture
When you see the world through the lens of scripture it filters out the lies of the media and allows you to discern truth from error. For months we were told that Kyle’s mother was a fool for allowing her son to go to Kenosha to defend property (she went to bed after a 16-hour shift at work and did not know her son was there), and that Kyle was a fool for putting himself in that situation. Were you caught believing this narrative? Many evangelical pastors were, even some of the most discerning initially held this position only to back track later (i.e. Doug Wilson). Did you consult scripture to see if your opinion matched God’s, or did you just believe what your favorite internet pastors told you to believe? Does God’s word criticize Jesse for allowing his son to go to the front lines? Does it mention how irresponsible he was for not knowing that his teenage son put himself in harm’s way to defend Israel? No, it doesn’t. Instead, it praises David for his actions, and for his faithfulness. The media has their opinions, and God has His. As Christians, whose opinion did we consult first? Which one do we trust the most?
The Church’s Unique Role
In a world where people do not know who to trust and what to believe, Christians have a unique role to play because we have a unique relationship with the truth. The world thinks of truth as just an idea. However, scripture speaks of truth differently because Jesus is the truth. Truth is a person. We can bless the world in ways no one else can because we know the truth and have a personal relationship with it. Jesus is the truth, and we know and serve Jesus. We know what He thinks because we can read His word.
Leading Others to the Truth
Before Stephen is stoned to death in Acts 7, he criticizes the angry mod which surrounds him by saying that they are uncircumcised in their hearts and ears. They love things more than God and they listen to others more than the word of God. Moments before they kill him, the mob covers their ears and begins shouting to drown out the truth of what Stephen is saying. They refused to hear the word of God, because they didn’t love the word of God and they attacked the one who gave it to them. If you want to confidently know the truth in a world intent on spreading lies, then we must go to the word of God to learn what the Truth has to say on the matter. We can have confidence, because the Truth isn’t dead, but He is alive, and He cares for and guides His people. So let us search His word, so that we can introduce the Truth to world that is starving for it.
Cruciform Media 