Truth, Lies, and Vigilantes

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading, titled Truth, Lies and Vigilantes, was written by Wynn Collier. During the 2018 baseball season, a Chicago Cubs coach wanted to give a baseball to a young boy sitting by the dugout. But when the coach tossed the ball toward him, a man scooped it up instead. Video of the event went viral. News outlets and social media skewered this brute of a man. Except viewers didn't know the whole story.

Earlier, the man had helped the young boy snag a foul ball, and they agreed to share any additional balls that came their way. Unfortunately, it took 24 hours before the true story emerged. The mob had already done its damage, demonizing an innocent man. Too often, we think we have all the facts when we only have fragments. In our modern gotcha culture with snippets of dramatic video and inflamed tweets, it's easy to condemn people without hearing the full story. However, Exodus chapter 23 verse 1 warns us not to spread false reports. We must do everything possible to confirm the truth before leveling accusations, making sure not to participate in lies. We should be cautious whenever a vigilante spirit takes hold, whenever passions ignite and waves of judgment swell. We want to safeguard ourselves from following the crowd and doing wrong. As believers in Jesus, may God help us not to spread falsehoods. May He provide what we need to exhibit wisdom and to make certain our words are actually true.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Exodus chapter 23 verses 1 through 9. Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit. If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there.

Be sure you help them with it. Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twist the words of the innocent. Do not oppress a foreigner.

You yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt. Let's pray. Lord, in the book of James, we're given the wise advice to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

But in these divided times, we often do the exact opposite. We pray that you would help us to take a step back before responding to things we know little about. Help us to listen to one another with ears that want to learn, that want to understand, so we can build relationships that benefit us all. Guide us in wisdom, Lord, so that we may live in unity with one another as you desire. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.