By Lamont H. Fuchs, Ed.D. (https://preacherspurs.com)
Scripture references: Psalms 1:1-2, 1 Corinthians 2:6-16, Romans 12:2, Matthew 4:1-11, Philippians 4:8, Romans 8:5-8, Romans 8:38-39.
Critical decision-making instruction is lacking in our basic educational systems. Many organizations teach about Critical Thinking, but few teach students how to think critically about anything. Religious organizations consider the topic of Critical Thinking to be somehow New Age and should be discouraged from our educational syllabi. As Christians, we must think critically and make good decisions based on the Truth of God’s Word, not worldly bias or Satan’s influence.
False indications, faulty intelligence, and worldly bias often play in the lives of Christians who lose focus on the Truth and lose faith in God. Satan is the great deceiver whose only purpose is to confuse and lead us in the wrong direction by pushing us to wrong thinking.
If you had ever ridden with me in my old 2005 pickup, you might have seen my engine light glowing on my dashboard. It’s been like that for about five years now. It makes my wife nervous, and it used to bug me, too. I’ve tried fixing it and taken it to several mechanics; they all have prescribed fixes. I’ve tried those remedies that only cost a few bucks. A few recommendations would have cost a lot of money, and I’ve not done those. You see, the pickup starts and runs fine with the light on.
There may be a real fix, but it doesn’t matter because I know it’s not a big deal. I figured out I can get by. I ignore the lie; I don’t get excited about it or change my driving habits.
The information that the sensor and indicator give me is faulty. False intel in life, if believed, can have costly, if not fatal, results. The idea is that sometimes we make bad decisions based on faulty intel. Many times that intel comes directly from the lies of Satan.
False swatting has become a significant problem across the US. You can Google what it is and find several incidents at schools, businesses, and private homes. An infamous event happened on Dec 28, 2017, in Wichita, Kansas. A local police officer (sniper) shot Andrew Finch to death after being mistakenly swatted by an online gamer playing “Call of Duty”. The unidentified gamer got into an argument with another online gamer and decided to play a prank. He submitted a 911 call and mistakenly gave the wrong address, resulting in a SWAT team response. Andrew Finch answered the door and was told to put his hands up. When he unexpectedly dropped one hand to his waist, he was immediately shot by the sniper officer. He was DOA at the hospital.
The original information was false, and the result was permanent. Andrew Finch, a father who had young children, was murdered.
In many ways, we all live with false information that pervades our daily lives. Some of it is the news we receive from media of all types. Some of it is gossip we hear from friends or family. As Christians, we should be diligent in guarding ourselves against these lies and deceptions. Our walk should be in Spirit and truth, but it is much more complicated than just saying so.
Consider how many people do terrible things based on false information. Suicide, murder, abortion, divorce, fights, division, you can name several negative results when people take action based on false information.
Critical thinking requires us to fight the indicator light. Those lights on your car’s dashboard have been called ‘idiot lights’ by mechanics for years because they know the truth. Indicator lights don’t tell you the whole story. You must dig deeper. You have to see all the angles and not jump to conclusions. You can not let prejudice or even previous experiences tell you what is right or wrong. You have to weigh the evidence and search for the truth. If you don’t know the difference between true and false, you can’t make a good decision, and you may as well hope for good luck. Do not put your faith in a warning light regardless of how long it burns.
