Believing The Lie:
The Truth Does Not Matter To Most People
People will believe what they want to believe.
Or they will believe what someone tells them to believe.

Introduction
Watching social media over many years, we learn that people do not care if something is the truth or not.
If it fits what they want to believe, they do not question it or examine if it is true or not.
The sad fact is that you cannot reason with such a person if their mind is already made up.
So it is with spiritual matters.
You can take them to the Bible and show them in black and white (even red);
but they will not believe the truth, but take pleasure in the lies.

There are a few reasons that this is the case.
2 Thessalonians 2:10-12
“and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness”.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths”.
These people do not learn the example of the noble Bereans.
Acts 17:11 “Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so”

When people want to believe the lie rather than the truth, there is no amount of reasoning from the scriptures that will convince them to change their minds.
If you try to reason with them, they always have a come-back and always chase some rabbit down a hole then they will expect you to follow and they will leave you stranded in the hole they have created.
In Ephesians 4:25 we read: "Therefore laying aside falsehood speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another".
The sad thing to consider is that if someone has decided to believe a lie, the truth does not matter to them.

But why would anyone want to believe a lie?
The answer is very simple.
They do not love the truth.
There are a multitude of reasons for people to not want to endure the truth of God’s word.
It is all rooted in selfish desires.
For most people, their lie becomes reality and eventually they will strongly believe it.
That is because God allows them to believe the lie.
That is following the old motto that if you tell a lie often enough, people will come to believe it.

Teachers who promote these lies will eventually have a following to their way of thinking.
We all have seen how those who speak the truth are treated by those who do not follow the truth.
It is usually with hateful language or they seem incredulous that you would challenge their belief.
These people also seem to act with a type of moral superiority that their way is much better and yours is foolishness.
There are those who believe that killing others is a righteous cause in their own minds.
Those who support abortion speak of it as a great gift to humanity that a woman can murder her own child.
They even parade around in the streets cheering the slaughter of millions and they hurl insults with the vilest of language at those who want to respect human life.

Another problem that can be a problem for Christians is this:
We see from social media that people forward stories they have received without checking out to see if it is true.
Many just read the headline and make assumptions and forward and share them without actually reading the stories and articles.
So I offer a word of caution to everyone who participates in this form of communication.
Ephesians 4:29: "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear".
Also in Ephesians 5:4 we read "and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks".

What you type that your friends see on the computer or other device is the same as if it comes out of your mouth.
Another warning we find in Ephesians 5:6-7: "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them".
That means that you just do not share or forward something that you have not examined yourself.
How many times have you read a statement on facebook like this: I’m sorry that I forwarded the previous post, I did not notice there was some profanity in it?

Conclusion
Be cautious with any information that comes your way because people will share what they want to believe and the truth does not matter to them.
God speaks to this problem.
I have had to chastise some brethren and those to claim to be Christians for using such language or just passing it along.
Jesus said “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matthew12:36 ).
Do not let this happen to you.

By Carey Scott

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