THE F WORD: FAKE NEWS, FAKE FOLLOWERS & FAKE FRONTLINERS (Musings in the time of COVID-19)
A few days ago, I joined a farewell party organized by someone I have never met, attended mostly by strangers but we all had one thing in common. Get those fake news peddlers! And with a rat-tat-tat of keyboard clicks, we all reported one page at a time to Facebook to get them offline even momentarily, buoyed by the success of taking down their queen bee.
Initially, I just mindlessly clicked and clicked until I noticed some familiar names of acquaintances and friends following these hateful pages but one name stood out. I knew we were on the same political fence so for a second, I was bewildered until I understood that he was just monitoring the most popular fake news page.
In a way, this is what has been happening in the church but in reverse. The church which upholds the Truth is not impenetrable to fake followers. People paying lip service to the Great Commission mingle with those who heed the call and even sacrifice their lives for its fulfillment that it’s hard to tell which is which because both speak Christianese. Ah, but words don’t hold a candle to actions and life testimony.
Matthew 7:16-20 say, “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (NKJV)
Fake followers may brand themselves as frontliners for the advancement of the Kingdom but their actions and lives will speak volumes more than their cheap words, manila paper posters, and Facebook postings. But enough about them. Let’s talk about us.
When the Day of Judgment comes, will we hear words of affirmation or condemnation from God? Will He say to us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” or “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”? Does that send shivers up and down your spine?
So how can we truly know which one are we? By having an honest assessment of our relationship with God. Do we have one in the first place? If not, we need to pray and receive Christ as our Lord and Savior.
And if we say we do have but have prioritized ourselves over kingdom concerns, we need to ask for forgiveness and help in refocusing our time and action to what really matters---being a faithful servant.
A faithful servant and someone lawless are like night and day. We can never be both. It’s always either-or. We are either serving God or serving ourselves or the devil. It’s black and white because the Lord is either Lord of all or not at all. Let us then take this opportunity to set things right before we find ourselves being called by God fake followers and block us from His presence forever.
A few days ago, I joined a farewell party organized by someone I have never met, attended mostly by strangers but we all had one thing in common. Get those fake news peddlers! And with a rat-tat-tat of keyboard clicks, we all reported one page at a time to Facebook to get them offline even momentarily, buoyed by the success of taking down their queen bee.
Initially, I just mindlessly clicked and clicked until I noticed some familiar names of acquaintances and friends following these hateful pages but one name stood out. I knew we were on the same political fence so for a second, I was bewildered until I understood that he was just monitoring the most popular fake news page.
In a way, this is what has been happening in the church but in reverse. The church which upholds the Truth is not impenetrable to fake followers. People paying lip service to the Great Commission mingle with those who heed the call and even sacrifice their lives for its fulfillment that it’s hard to tell which is which because both speak Christianese. Ah, but words don’t hold a candle to actions and life testimony.
Matthew 7:16-20 say, “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (NKJV)
Fake followers may brand themselves as frontliners for the advancement of the Kingdom but their actions and lives will speak volumes more than their cheap words, manila paper posters, and Facebook postings. But enough about them. Let’s talk about us.
When the Day of Judgment comes, will we hear words of affirmation or condemnation from God? Will He say to us, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” or “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”? Does that send shivers up and down your spine?
So how can we truly know which one are we? By having an honest assessment of our relationship with God. Do we have one in the first place? If not, we need to pray and receive Christ as our Lord and Savior.
And if we say we do have but have prioritized ourselves over kingdom concerns, we need to ask for forgiveness and help in refocusing our time and action to what really matters---being a faithful servant.
A faithful servant and someone lawless are like night and day. We can never be both. It’s always either-or. We are either serving God or serving ourselves or the devil. It’s black and white because the Lord is either Lord of all or not at all. Let us then take this opportunity to set things right before we find ourselves being called by God fake followers and block us from His presence forever.