A LESSON FOR THE CHURCH FROM THE COVINGTON SCHOOL DEBACLE

   

       What can we learn from all the controversy surrounding the two students from the Covington Catholic school and an elderly Native American man?  This weekend, a tiny portion of a much longer video surfaced, edited in such a way, as to portray two young men, at the March for Life rally, as bullies, harassing an elderly Native American man.  The mainstream press, along with much of the liberal community, was very quick to rush to judgment and condemned the high schoolers.  Verified Tweeters of a left wing persuasion called for violence against these boys.  In fact, threats of violence caused the school to suspend classes.

      The liberal left showed it's true colors in an avalanche of hate and threats spewed all over social media.  Some wished for a school shooting to take place at Covington, a record label owner called for the boys to locked in the school while it was burned down, journalist Eric Abriss was fired for wishing death to both the boys and their parents and a female SNL writer offered sexual favors for anyone who punched the boys in the face.  Celebrities jumped on board the hate train and accused the boys of everything from being Nazis to Klansman.  Daily Show host Trevor Noah opined his desire to punch the boys in the face.

      Days later, an avalanche of mea culpas is flooding the world of social media.  "I am sorry for rushing to judgment" is the new rally cry across the Twitterverse.  Too little, too late, in my opinion.  Shamefully, Twitter was slow to react and did not suspend accounts of those who vomited threats towards minors, until the full video was released and the truth of the event was revealed. The elderly Native American man who was portrayed as a victim was actually the villain of the story.   Nathan Phillips, a known provocateur, orchestrated a media event, in order to advance his agenda. 

     The lesson we must take away from this is do not rush to judgment based on initial appearances.  Whether it is a news story, a juicy bit of gossip or something  heard in church, until you are able to verify the information, tread carefully.

    The Bible says a matter is established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Before you run off and tout something you heard, verify the information.  As believers in Christ, we cannot allow our emotions to run away with us or cause us to believe the worst about someone with whom we disagree. 

     The  Apostle Paul commended the Berean people for fact checking his message with scripture. How many false teachers and heretics would lose their followings if modern Christians were as noble as the Bereans and checked their doctrines in light of scripture?  

        In the world of fake news, fact checking is more important 
than ever.  Also of utmost importance is fact checking your faith.  Know what you believe and why you believe it.  If your faith is based solely on something you have been taught all your life, you are building your house on sand.  2 Timothy 2:15 - Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth

 Don't just take someone's word
       
            God gave us His Word and His Spirit to help us understand His Word.  You are ultimately responsible if you believe bad doctrine. Shame on those who would use the Word of God to manipulate and deceive others but shame on those who do not study scripture for themselves and fact check.

The truth is always true


        If what you believe is the truth, never fear the questions.  The truth is always true and the questions all have answers.  People who never question and follow blindly often come to a crisis of faith when they cannot defend a hand me down religion. If you do not have a reason for your hope in Christ, you may not truly know Him.

If a religious leader discourages questions, he probably has something to hide

       If you have been part of a church that discourages questions, as I was, many years ago, you may have become suspicious of the leaders and, sadly, even suspicious of God. A pretty good rule of thumb is, if your religious leaders discourage questions, they probably have something to hide.  Some ministers discourage questions for fear of being exposed as a fraud, some simply do not know the answers to tough questions and are embarrassed, and some ministers have actually become atheist but are trapped in a job.  Walk, don't run, away from a church leader who gets hostile if you dare question something he has taught.  "You just have to have faith" is probably one of the worst possible answers a minister can give to a tough question.

         Be sure to learn what you think you know.  Ask questions if you don't understand something and remember, if you are a believer in Christ, you have the Spirit of God indwelling you.  Verify what you hear and check your emotions  before you react and you will be better off than all those who rushed to judgment against two kids who did nothing wrong.  Do not allow your personal bias to become part of the narrative until you have all the facts.  1 Peter 3:15-16 -  but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 



        Now, go live as Christ... and give the devil hell!