“The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.” (Proverbs 14:15)
I grew up being told: “Don’t believe every word you hear.” Now, in a day when objective reality has been replaced by subjective “truth,” we need to heed that warning more than ever.
People aren’t interested in the “facts on the ground” – what matters to them is what they call their own “lived experience.” The way things appear to them; or, the way they would like things to be, is their standard for what IS.
In his day, Jeremiah shared God’s grief over the dearth of men who were “valiant for the truth.” He hated being around their constant spin.“Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:2,3)
What was God’s warning in such a day?
“Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.” (Jeremiah 9:3,4)
Who do you believe in a day when “truth has fallen in the streets?” No one, but God. The “messengers” can’t be trusted. The “experts” can’t be trusted. Judges and juries can’t be trusted. Don’t be so sure that they’ve gotten it right. Innocent people still end up in jail; and guilty ones go free. Many prefer darkness over light, and have no qualms in speaking falsely if it suits their purpose.
God expects us to have a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to the conclusions of our fellowman. “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man” (Ps. 118:8).
Don’t believe every word you hear, unless God has spoken.