I am going to share Exodus chapter 20 verse 16 from the King James Bible.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” That is a pretty serious command. It says quite clearly not to spread lies about your brother and your sister and your fellow man.
Sadly, Christians are not immune to this.
I only have to trawl through my Facebook to see it.
I would see one person sharing facts and evidence about Christ’s resurrection and then next day they are sharing this unfounded conspiracy theory that Covid-19 is a disease invented by globalists to keep us all under control. Unless it is proven by our Government, you need to shut up and stop bearing false witness.
It’s damaging your witness
First, the world already thinks you’re crazy.
That’s ok. Afterall being normal is overrated.
Secondly, it’s biblical.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 18 (NKJV)
Whatever you are proclaiming is foolishness to those who are perishing so those people already think you’re nuts. Don’t damage whatever credibility you have by believing and sharing unfounded rumours.
You not only look nuts it’s also sinful.
Maybe whatever you are sharing is true, maybe you’re smarter than the State and you have discovered the truth and whatever Dave in his basement has discovered, which has so far eluded our best and brightest, is correct—should you still share it?
NO!
We are to honour our leaders
The New Testament was written to Christians that were living under actual tyranny. Yet even the apostle Paul who suffered brutally under this tyranny said,
“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” (Romans chapter 13 verse 1, NKJV)
If you share a conspiracy theory that goes against the authority that God has established, you’re not only spreading false witness against your neighbour, you are spreading false witness against the very authority that God has established and you look like a weirdo! We are to trust our governing authorities because these authorities have been appointed by God.
If Paul could do it, during the 1st century Roman Empire, which was one of the most brutal dictatorships that ever lived (think about it, when was the last time you saw a public crucifixion?), then we can do it here in Australia or wherever you are in the world.
Our Leaders need our Prayers
In my opinion I believe we are very fortunate in this country; we have a leader who quite publicly seeks the Lord in what he does. There are videos online of him praying for Australia. His wife still serves in the kid’s church at his local church. I was even present in the room when he prayed for Australia and our farmers and for rain. I believe Scott Morrison is a blessing and he deserves our prayers.
I believe the way he has handled this Covid-19 pandemic, and the balance you have to make between public health and keeping the economy going, I think he has got the balance just about perfect.
Yes, we are going to take a hit, but according to the International Monetary Fund, we are going to recover. The curve has flattened and as I write this Australia’s daily infection rate is now below one percent and we have tragically had just over 70 deaths.
Almost every country in Europe, and I would say every state in the USA, would love to have numbers like that. The UK’s Prime Minister is recovering from the same condition his Government is fighting. Morrison is not perfect and there are policies he has made that I do not agree with and no doubt during the bushfires he made mistakes, but he recovered.
I pray for him, I pray for him every day.
But to believe these theories out there, implies, that he either knows about it and is therefore lying which means you would mistrust an authority that God has placed there, or he is ignorant. Highly unlikely in my book. The theory about China is under investigation so we should make no further comment and trust the God-appointed international community to do whatever they have to do.
However, we can do our bit during this pandemic.
Let’s be the light, let’s be a blessing, let’s be part of the solution and not part of the problem, let’s honour and pray for our leaders and not add to the confusion, panic, hysteria and mistrust that is already out there.
Ben Kruzins is the Campus Pastor of The Hub Baptist Church in Ocean Shores on the North Coast of New South Wales. He is also a Journalism graduate who has written articles in The Canberra Times and The Sydney Morning Herald.
