We have all felt that sensation. You are scrolling through social media and it seems as if a few people’s steady stream of negative comments shout louder than if you could hear all the new babies picture that flood your feed scream simultaneously in one voice! Those comments that mock, criticize and slander others, most often people whom the author has never met.
Explore with me for a moment what it would have been like if Judas Iscariot had a blog.
Maybe he would have talked about how “Jesus was so cruel because He cast out the money changers,” or how “He made us walk all the time and He made us work even though we were hungry, we had to pass out food to other people then pick up the crumbs afterwards. Jesus is so rude, so selfish. We are carrying all this money around, but look at all the poor people around us. Why doesn’t He give it away, or at least buy us some decent food?”
“One day we had to row back across the lake, and then we had to walk another 10 miles. Day after day, we walk. What does Jesus think we are, a bunch of camels?”
You get the idea. These would have been reasonable accusations that people around Jesus could have made, if perhaps, they didn’t know His heart in each situation or trust it. This is how the events would have been interpreted through Judas’ lenses because he had a poisoned heart, and therefore he believed the worst.
It’s a good thing that Judas didn’t have a blog because then the people who hadn’t really met Jesus would have only seen Him through his jaded eyes.
When we read anything online, consider the credibility of the writer of a blog/post etc. Are they seemingly always trying to demean or build up? Do they spend their time trying to make lives better or the opposite? Are they experts? Is their dialogue constantly negative?
Why should their opinion influence your thoughts? How do you know they are not simply a Judas of some sort dressed up in a beautiful website? If I do not know their credibility, why would I use my time to read their posts? It has the potential to put unjust doubt in my mind as I think about the person to whom they are referring.
We all like news, information and hearsay, especially about leaders. We know if someone were to say, “Hey I want to gossip to you about this person,” most of us would not give that person the time of day. But then we find ourselves from time to time spending our precious time soaking up hearsay on the Internet. Why would we read the random post of a would-be Judas?
As we write or repost what we read, let’s exercise some discernment and caution before we are tempted to pass on what we “know” in a conversation about another person (whether true or not). Would this edify? Do our egos want kudos for being the first to share some news about another? We must continually weigh what we say or write if we are to be ones whose words are valued as credible.
Let us be careful lest we become the pen in the hand of Judas.
Ron Luce is the founder of Teen Mania.
