The Wise Choose Peace

 I saw a true tweet today. "Social media is not social. It is a cesspool."  It is quite a cesspool, or a "disgusting, corrupt place" or "underground container for the temporary storage of liquid waste and sewage." As I say when taking out the smelly trash, "Lovely." No matter who you choose to follow, there is an overwhelming amount of negativity and doom on the average feed. Why we choose to contribute to it by ingesting it daily boggles my mind. 

It isn't in fact, "social", because no one is really interacting. They are simply tossing out their own beliefs and opinions, sometimes in "ALL CAPS LOCK" to strangers just to make themselves feel better. There are no intelligent discussions, no eye to eye conversations of heart to heart proportions. No meeting of the minds. Just a smearing of yuck being passed around like "hey, smell this milk. I think it's bad." Call me cynical, but it's pretty bad. 

My curiosity serves as somewhat of a social experiment, or food for my writing in a way. I wonder what makes people think the way they do, and then I quickly get a brainache when I realize it's impossible to really understand it. 

Some people just want to follow others who are just as angry as they are about all the same things, but don't have any solutions. Others spew hate, rage, and other forms of vitriol and toxic language without any regard to reason or sensibility. The amount of people liking and sharing those types of posts is very telling to the contagiousness of rage and the companionship of lies. 

If you are as angry as they are, they accept you. If you try to reason with them, they call you a traitor. One who desires peace or unity is a sellout, yet those who are constantly warring are seen as "radicalized". If you are a Christian, they really give you a hard time. There is no shortage of name-calling and finger-pointing on social media, but there is a real lack of solution-seeking and positivity. 

All I can see is chaos no matter what you SAY you believe. Everyone says they want the same thing, but no one can agree on what that thing is, and no one can agree on the best path to get there and no one can provide a solution for any of it. That is the biggest lack of wisdom I've ever seen and they all think they have the answer. Funny how that works. I don't even have to choose a side to tell you that both "sides" are doing the same thing. They just have opposite beliefs. They both feel as passionate about what they believe. It doesn't make it the right way to go about it! And yes, in the middle of all of that chaos, there are lies mixed in. And they don't seem to care about what is true anymore as long as it fits the comfort of their belief system. It doesn't make me question at all why I've hated politics my entire life. And now what politics has become is even worse and I hate that even more. I don't enjoy chaos of any kind. Does anyone, really? 

There can be no wisdom found in chaos. Wisdom does not exist where there is anger, hypocrisy, aggressiveness, toxicity, a lack of mercy, partiality, hatred, impurity, prejudice, jealousy, selfishness, bitterness, envy, confusion, conflict....need I go on?  There is no justice found where there is no peace. 

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. 

James 3:18 

Do you want to be heard? Tell the truth. The actual truth. 

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is Christ. 

Ephesians 4:15 

Don't antagonize people. Stop looking for a fight every time you turn around. 

It is to one's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel. 

Proverbs 20:3 

If you don't know what the truth is about something, don't share it until you do. Sometimes when we are passionate about something, we overlook facts. It is important to be honest and understand that there is a difference between how things seem and how things are and it's up to us to get the truth straight. Don't accept a "version" of the truth just because it confirms what you already believe. We need to challenge ourselves. Knowledge is power and there is power in growing in wisdom. 

The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out. 

Proverbs 18:15 

Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse. 

Proverbs 2:12 

A friend recently told me that of course truth is important, but "everyone's truth is different". I found this interesting and the discussion that ensued exhausting. But I think the point was made, that people will accept the truth that best suits them and their belief system. I believe that truth is truth. What is delivered by the news and sometimes our well-meaning friends and family is a version of facts and fiction blended together with opinion and experiences and biases. It doesn't make it "true", and that's why we need to acquire knowledge, and protect ourselves from the cesspools of garbage. 

God gave us a really cool mind and he gave us curiosity and the ability to seek out knowledge. Part of seeking knowledge is to become wise, and in becoming wise we become something really awesome called peaceful. A peaceful person with wisdom is not argumentative. A peaceful, wise person is not combative, insecure, fretful, hypocritical, worried, partial, confused, bitter, prejudiced, rage-filled, suspicious, and closed-minded. A peaceful, wise person is not yelling on social media, sharing unsubstantiated information, or using information to create conflict or unrest in others. A peaceful and wise person is concerned about the information they share with others and makes sure it is responsible, helpful, and sincere. I would call that person a "pure heart" and not a "troublemaker". Do you have anyone like this in your life? Are you this person? 

A peaceful, wise person demonstrates humility. And until we see more humility in our solutions in the state, the country, and the world, we will continue to stir up cesspools of stinking waste.  There are a lot of people who don't seem to value peace. They see peace as being meek, weak, neutral, or uninvolved. It's sad, really, that those who don't understand the gentleness of peace also don't understand its power. There are also many, sadly, who don't know Jesus, or have a really skewed idea of who he is, according to my social media observations. He is the ultimate example of humility and where power exists in peace. He is the ultimate example of how to change the world without creating chaos in people. We can live out that example by getting to know the character of Jesus. 

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Mark 10:45

If you stuck with me this long, thank you for reading. I know it was long, but I've had so much on my mind lately. This past year has been a year of revelations and realizations and many "come to Jesus" moments. It has opened my eyes to the hurts of the world around me and the plights of others in countries still struggling with the issues America has rarely seen but is now having. It seems we are taking our turn, and it is all on us. The fault and the solutions weigh on us being able to work together as one, and the evidence shows that it won't happen without consideration and cooperation. And peace can't happen without wisdom. There are not two Americas, but as long as we continue to live as such, we are weak, vulnerable, partial, chaotic, full of conflict, selfish, combative, and without peace. Pray with me that we get it together. I pray regularly for the state of our world. I don't know why things happen as they do, but I do believe God has a purpose for everything that happens. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. 

John 3:16 

For more blogs on the topic of Truth, check out Sir Norm's Proverbial Comment