Everyone has an opinion. Nowadays it is easy to make that opinion public knowledge. Social media allows us to share our thoughts, ideas, and views on everything with the click of a mouse and possibly a few key strokes. Over the past month, my heart breaks as I read people posting their opinions on topics of which they know nothing.

Frequently we simply parrot what our favorite media site says is true. We share Facebook posts that sound accurate without having much information. Every day people are forming opinions about things of which they have little to no information.

Reading a few opinion posts this morning led me to change my writing plan to address this topic. Here are some things to think about before you share that next story.

1. NOT EVERYTHING YOU READ IS CORRECT. I know this should go without saying, but it bears repeating over and over. We live in a world where fake news exists. We read opinion pieces as if they were fact. Articles today come with heavy bias one way or the other. Please do not accept anything you read that was written today at face value.

2. Take time to investigate information. I read one article about the Churches in Houston. It made me mad and embarrassed by the actions that were reported. Then I went on to read about a dozen other articles which explained the situation in much more detail. The post was written based on one tiny piece of information and was not representative of the big picture. Also, I strongly encourage you to do a little research on snopes.com or a similar site to confirm the story (see #1).

3. Look in the mirror. The Bible is very clear that judgment only comes after I have looked in the mirror and removed the log from my own eye. I recently read a post that was very incriminating about a religious leader. He appeared to be trying to avoid taxes in a big way. My first thought was outrage; then I looked in the mirror. I hire a professional tax guy to help me write off every possible deduction. I use the same loopholes in my life, but they are not on such a grand scale. I am still not sure the leader did the right thing, but my judgment is of myself first.

4. Be careful criticizing the Church. I read vast amounts of material about the Church in several forms. It seems that there are people who love tearing down other Christians. They speak of the Christians they know as kind and loving, but the rest of the world is lost. Great people are living faithfully across the globe, and they deserve our grace, love, and support.

5. Consider whether you are helping the kingdom of God. Are you trying to push your own political agenda? Do you value your opinions over the opinions of others? Are you causing division? Do your words foster love or hate? Do not confuse your own personal thoughts and ambitions with those of the kingdom of God. You might find out one day that you were wrong. You might get numerous people to like your post while hurting the work of the Lord.

Please be thoughtful before you share that next post. Please pray before you write a harsh criticism of someone else. Please seek biblical wisdom and Godly counsel before you share your opinion. The kingdom of God is either growing or shrinking in the digital world. Ask yourself, “How am I helping the faith by my words both spoken and written?”

As a fellow believer, I am begging you to think beyond yourself.

These exact words were typed into my idea file for this blog. They came to me after a particularly difficult day of ministry. After hours of prayers, heartache, and tears I finally took a few minutes to look over the internet and some social media. Immediately, one phrase came to mind, “That’s not fair. Why does my life seem always to be a struggle while other people have it so easy?”

I suddenly remembered a line from the Bible in Hebrews 12:1. There it describes, “the sin that so easily entangles.” I heard a sermon on that line I over twenty years ago in which a preacher talked about the addictiveness of sin.

Evil seems to catch us unexpectedly. It comes along so naturally. I hear people say things like, “I never expected things to go this far.” They tell me, “I was just surfing the internet and the next thing I know …” Sometimes I hear them say, “It just started as a conversation and then …”

Sin easily entangles.

It grabs us unexpectedly and pulls us down. The dopamine in our brain is triggered, and we quickly lose control. There is this adrenaline rush, and we feel good at the moment. We disengage and feel a warm feeling of temporary pleasure.

Finally, we come back to reality, and the euphoria is gone. We destroyed a relationship, we hurt someone we love, we made a poor decision, and we feel a sense of emptiness. We hope that one more shot of whatever we felt will make everything better and the cycle gets repeated.

The flip side is quite the opposite. Living for God is hard work. It requires a plan and carefully thought out action. We must make time for God. Bible reading can be confusing. Prayer is not very natural. Worship songs are something we need to be led to sing. We need help to understand theology. Serving others must be instilled in us. Giving appears so against the American dream.

The things of God are not easy to do.

And yet, these are the most rewarding parts of life. Connecting with our maker gives us hope, love, security, and meaning. Serving gives us pleasure and purpose. Communion shows us peace with our past and freedom from guilt. Giving makes us feel the joy that nothing can take away. These things do not have the physical and emotional rush that evil brings, rather they touch something deep inside of us that is hard to explain.

This week there will be the temptation to take the easy way and go with the flow and choose the path of least resistance. There will also be the opportunity to do something far more challenging like choosing to live for God and go with the Bible and the Spirit’s leading.

One will leave you empty and wanting more. The other will bring joy and leave no regrets. Which one will you choose?

Here is a thought for your Sunday afternoon and Labor Day Monday. May God bless you all and I will see you on Tuesday.

I haven’t posted any great articles in the last few weeks. This is partly because I was busy and partly from my lack of reading any really great posts. Here a six good ones to get you through your holiday weekend. Enjoy.

6 reasons to sit in a different seat this weekend

Why is my husband so angry?

Open Letter to Francis Chan

Lies We’ve Believed About Gossip

Thanks Dad, for not (always) showing up

Faux intimacy

The past week has been filled with pictures of the heroic acts taking place in Texas. They have also revealed to us the devastation of the floods in many areas, especially Houston. As a believer, the immediate response is, “How can I help?” Some of us are even more specific in our question, “How can we help the Christians and the Churches in Texas?”

These are great questions, and they are not new. I vividly remember when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and the desire of the Church I was serving then to help in some way.

Back then, the immediate reaction is to take things into our own hands. Let’s partner with a Church and make things happen. Some Churches collected items and took them down in an effort to show the love of Christ.

Then a sad thing happened. Many of the items had no one to distribute them. A local pastor explained that as people were rebuilding, they did not have the resources to hand out all of the donations. The end product was hundreds and thousands of items and dollars going into dumpsters.

With that in mind, I know many of my Church attendees and blog readers want to help with the recovery project in Texas. My suggestion is to support a group who is prepared to help in such a large-scale project. Many organizations exist with the sole purpose of disaster relief. They are adequately prepared to organize volunteers, money, and donations.

I am going to suggest three groups.

1. International Disaster Emergency Services
This group is a part of our brotherhood of Churches. They have been around since the year I was born in 1972. They have helped in every major disaster of the last several years and are more than prepared to help in this one.

2. Samaritan’s Purse
This group is lead by Franklin Graham and has a reputation for having over 90% of donations actually going to help people. They are the organization behind the shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child and have partnerships all over the world.

3. North American Mission Board.
This is a Baptist organization that is known for their help and compassion. I don’t know as much about this one, but it is a highly recommended resource for people looking to help.

If you are looking for a way to help the flooding victims, these are great ways to get started.