Acts 21:36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Away with him!”

The whole story of Paul’s arrest is a perfect example of the reality that you can’t reason with terrorists or mobs. The “Jews from the province of Asia” (verse 27) were upset at Paul’s success in that pro­vince and so manufactured lies to whip up a mob against him, and they were sadly successful at that. We are seeing that sort of thing constantly all around us today, as unscrupulous people of various persuasions use all sorts of lies to whip people up about the subject of their choice. The whole pandemic thing was one example, when governments took a very real, though engineered, disease and used it to control whole populations with assertions that had little to no basis in actual scientific fact. Right now the world is in the middle of a war that the only real basis for it is antisemitism, but horrible suffering is the result. Rational statements are in danger of being drowned out by the uproar, just as they were at Paul’s arrest. Believers, and actually rational people of all stripes, need to step back and consider the bias of whatever “news” sources they have, and not be tricked into mob action. Jesus is the truth, (John 14:6) and God’s truth sets us free, (John 8:32) but the devil is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44) The devil is an expert at taking facts out of context and twisting them into lies to control and destroy people. As James said, we’ve got to submit to God and resist the devil. (James 4:7)

I’ve got to be as careful of this as anyone. I too am partial to “confirmation bias.” The problem is, we all like to be right, and so grasp onto things that make us feel our opinions were correct. I have strong opinions about a lot of things, but I’ve got to be humble enough to hear truth that contradicts those opinions. At the same time, I’ve got to remember that rational argument is useless in some situations. I need to speak the truth in love, but not be surprised when the truth produces opposition.

Father, I am really saddened at the way lies take over the narrative so often, but certainly not as much as You are. Help me stand in Your truth, and especially the truth that You are our Creator who loves us so much You sent Your Son to die as our Savior. Help me communicate that truth effectively to as many as will receive it, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!