Thirty seven percent of all statistics are made up.
Believe me?
You shouldn’t. I made that up.
I read an article this weekend about the rise of fake news sites. It seems that in this age of social media, more and more people are simply making up the news and spreading it around. Case in point, one of the characters in the election year tragedy playing out in our country tweeted something this weekend as news. Two hundred and fifty thousand people retweeted it (forwarded the message) or hit the “like” button to show their support.
The problem? The original tweet had no basis in fact. The candidate had simply made it up.
To be fair, both sides use social media to highlight their competitor’s faults and oversell their own version of truth. That’s politics.
But in this hyperpartisan age of campaigning, we would all be wise to do our research before believing what we read or before passing something on.
I suppose turning off the television and ignoring the whole thing is another option.
Then again, maybe history can teach us.
Two thousand years ago, a weary band of men and women met a man who changed their world. His message was love over hate, forgiveness over revenge, mercy over murder, light over darkness, justice over expediency.
No social media. No Twitter. No Facebook. No Instagram. Just the power of a positive message.
Maybe therein lies the lesson. Seek the Truth where it may be found. Spread the news that renews. Live in a way that shows others we recognize God’s presence so that in our touch, our words, our actions, God may touch, and speak, and act.
Then, perhaps, others may sense God’s presence when we pass by and, seeing us, know with little effort, they catch a glimpse of God.
No online presence is necessary.
Come Holy Spirit, renew the face of the Earth…
Artwork source: http://hoshanarabbah.org