Tested

This past week I’ve begun writing Bible study material for my next teaching session with the ladies in our church. Each time I do this, I am tested on my subject matter. I’ve selected the topic of discernment and in the last two days I’ve had specific tests in that regard.

The first one was a bit odd. Someone sent me some information I’d not heard before. Whenever that happens, and if it seems relevant to my life, I check it out. I discovered that some of it was skewed a bit, so I let the sender know. The reaction was defensive. This information came from an educated, trusted person, therefore it must be true.

I shook my head in wonder. Education doesn’t always protect me from being wrong. Being trustworthy doesn’t innoculate me against error. Everyone makes mistakes. It is wise to be sure about important matters.

In this situation, I knew I needed discernment about the information, but that wasn’t my biggest problem. I was deeply frustrated and felt that my frustration was in error. Why this reaction? I not only wondered why this person, and others, do not check their sources, but also wondered why I was so annoyed that they didn’t.

I first thought that I was concerned that others can get themselves in trouble by being naive. However, that was not a bad attitude and shouldn’t make me feel as I did. Then I went through the usual stuff, like “too many people cause all kinds of harm by spreading rumors that are not true” and “I don’t have time to check out information; the person who sent it should have done it” and so on. Those responses might be true even if they are more selfish, yet I was still rankled and didn’t understand why I felt so “tipped over” and turned inward.

My husband supplied the answer. He said that the sender was trying to be helpful and my response said “you are no help.” I’d done okay with saying the truth, but I had not spoken it in love.

Bingo. My focus was (and usually is) mostly on the truth and I never thought at all about how I presented it. This is a pattern in my life and God is drawing my attention to it. My devotional verse for today offered further conviction, but also a good first step to be more Christlike with how I treat people. It says:

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. (Romans 1:8)

Not only do I focus more on truth and less on love, but so often fail to be thankful for other believers and their faith in Jesus Christ. God wants me to appreciate folks and their good intentions, not swat at them when their efforts fall short of being personally helpful.

While still feeling like a dummy over that one, the phone rang this morning. My son called to say a friend of his was deeply concerned that his sister might be into a cult. He told me the name of the group she was involved with but I had never heard of it. We both went online and found that almost all the links were positive. However, one site was not. It reported information about the origins and methods of various groups and didn’t have much good to say about this one. In fact, the first red flag said this organization had a legal staff that brought lawsuits against anyone who reported anything negative about them. Whew!

As we weighed the information we were reading, we both recognized the need for discernment. He spotted other concerns and we agreed that, while this organization did not call themselves a religion, they do have many characteristics that identify them as “messengers of Satan disguising themselves as angels of light” (see 2 Corinthians 11:14), and no characteristics that identified them as God-fearing people of faith.

I said that this girl likely had a deep need, and this group used that as a hook. She would find some help and understanding, but not the long-term solutions that she needed. Those can only come from the Eternal One who died and gave Himself for us. He agreed. He also told me that he had quickly spotted the error in another group (similar but more well-known) but missed it in this one, until now.

My son thanked me, but we both know that it is the Holy Spirit who discerns the truth. God gives His people insight into what is from Him and what is not. He will also give my son words to say to his worried friend.

After these two tests, I am more convinced than ever that I need the Holy Spirit to help me in every way. I need Him not only to discern what is true and what is false in the world of philosophies and cults and all sorts of information, but to open my eyes to my own failures and shortcomings that I might be the person God wants me to be.