I chanced upon a show where people vied for the title of cooking the most sinful dish. One did a wagyu burger sandwich, the second was a grilled bone marrow, and the third created a chocolate dessert that stared insulin in the eye. Which do you think won? The lone judge chose the bulalo.

Everyone expected the diabetes-inducing dessert to win but the judge explained her choice. "It was the most sinful because it's deceptive."

One look at the chocolate dessert is enough for us to reach for ampalaya. As for the wagyu burger, it didn't even look menacing that a cardiologist would probably order it. Although we know bulalo is bad, put it next to the dessert, it looks “less bad.” It's akin to our Christian life.

We know what God considers as sin (Mark 7:21-23, Gal. 5:19-21). You don’t have to be a believer to know killing and stealing are wrong. They're like the chocolate dessert but being envious of someone is like the grilled bulalo. Gossiping even in the context of sharing prayer requests is like the grilled bulalo. Flattering is like the grilled bulalo. They are all deceptive.

In God’s eyes, envy, gossiping, and flattering are as sinful as murder and stealing but like the grilled bulalo, they are deceptive because for one, they are not criminal acts. And who has ever been cancelled for being inggitero, tsismosa, and matamis ang dila? People have made careers out of them. 

Sharing fake news is also like the grilled bone marrow. It is deceptive sin. Sharing fake news is not caring. It is lying. Bearing false witness is one of the Ten Commandments. Sharing fake news is gossiping. It is malicious. It destroys reputations and even lives which makes us a murderer. Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” or in today’s times, in the power of a button. As a Christ-follower, we should not be sharing fake news but the Good News. When was the last time we did that especially online? I am not talking about forwarding bible verses but presenting the Gospel. Ellie Garcia was one of the victims of the Texas shooting but before she died, she posted a video on Tiktok sharing the Good News. Ellie was just nine years old.