Ponder: Is there any truth to that internet article?
Scripture: “But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7, NKJV).
You can’t put anything on the internet unless it’s true. How do I know? I read it on the internet! We’ve all had a good laugh at such naïveté, yet all too often we swallow dubious claims that appeal to us.
Maybe it’s the latest health fad – do this, eat that, take this, stop that, and you’ll be as healthy as a horse and live to be a hundred! Or maybe it’s a scandal about a politician or Hollywood celebrity (hopefully one I dislike anyway); just look at the shocking thing he/she did/said!
It’s called click bait. I don’t understand exactly how it works, but businesses make money when gullible people click on their deceitfully worded link. If a million people click on it, a few hundred might buy a product that’s advertised.
Unfortunately, the same sort of deceit is rampant regarding religious subjects, and it happens both on and off the internet. There are innumerable breathless invitations to learn about the “lost books of the Bible” (which are not books of the Bible and are not lost – we’ve known about them all along). And that well-known, plain passage of Scripture actually means the exact opposite of what it says because it’s written in code! Oh, by the way, Jesus isn’t really who you think He is. (Is there no end to such nonsense?)
Time is a precious commodity. Use it productively. Meditate on things that are true, noble, pure, just, lovely, positive, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). Studying the Bible, preparing lessons, visiting the sick, comforting the discouraged, praying, and contacting absentees are infinitely more helpful that fretting over the latest rumor that probably isn’t even true. Ignore the click bait!
Hymn: “Each Day I’ll Do A Golden Deed”
Prayer: Father, please help us to focus on what really matters. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
–Joe Slater
