Acting Like Eve

I think at one time or another we have all been guilty of doing what I am about to write about (I put myself in this category as well). Have you ever believed or passed on information  that you have not verified from the original source. With technology today this can happen often with the ease of email, facebook, and Twitter.  It is done with good intentions, but it only takes one person to see something from someone who they trust, know, or assume to be a reliable source, and then the ball continues to roll.  Case and point is, I have had an email account  for well over ten years now, and I remember back then, getting URGENT emails about how the FCC and Madalyn Murry O'Hair were fighting to take all religious TV personality's and shows off  of the air.  That same email is still floating around.  I just received an "updated" version of the story a few weeks ago.  This story is FALSE.  There are numerous forwards just like this that continue to get passed around and get people worried over nothing.  How many forwards or story's have we forwarded or re-told without really knowing if it is true or not.  We assume that it is correct because it came from someone who we deem as reliable and it sounds somewhat possible. (hmmm see any correlation to Eve and the snake here).

There is a web site called http://www.snopes.com/ that you can go to to verify if a email story is correct or not.   Before you post something or send  a forward, take a moment to check the story out.  If it's not listed on Snopes, then dig a little deeper to see where the original email came from, and get more information, before you hit the send button, or post something to Facebook or Twitter. If its a real story then it is well worth a few extra minutes of our time to explore the truth, so that we can confidently send out accurate information. 

This also reminds of something our pastor says regularly... he strongly encourages us every Sunday to bring our Bible and to read along with him.  As christians, we need to know that we know, what God's word says. If we are only relying on someone else to feed us, we will never grow the way God meant for us to grow.  How can it be a personal relationship if I am relaying on a third party.  I love my pastor but his word is not Gospel.  He is a man and he will be the first to tell you he struggles with sin issues just like the rest of us. My husband and I love that we are under our church and our pastor's teaching and covering, but we also love that we are encouraged to dig deeper in our own walks and we are encouraged to *see* the word as it is being preached.

These are two very different examples but the point is the same...take time in your day to be your own advocate.  Don't just blindly pass along information, especially important pressing information or stories. Make sure you know, that you know, especially when it comes to passing along (and understanding) biblical information.

I believe when we allow ourselves to become lackadaisical in one area of our life, then it opens the door for more, and before you know it, we have with all good intentions, created confusion, panic, and unnecessary stress, in other peoples lives (and possibly our own as well). We have also allowed the enemy to gain another (small as it might be) victory.  With a "tool" he has been crafting since the beginning of time.

John 8:32  and you will know the truth, and truth will make you free