Whatsoever Things are True

I recently received a forward with a "plea" from Dr. Dobson. The news purported in the email is frightening to Christians, but the fact is, it isn’t true. Well-meaning Christians who receive a forwarded email frequently present me with these emails. Believing every word of it, they forward it on to their friends and family with the plea to sign a petition, contact a congressman or boycott a product.

This concerns me. There is much to worry about in our world today, and it does pay to be diligent. However, before we allow ourselves to become upset and before we act upon something, wouldn’t it behoove us to ascertain the truth of the information? I don’t think any of us would like to know that we have been a victim of a hoax or that we have unwittingly propagated that hoax.

A good resource to check out such emails is snopes.com. This site is an excellent clearinghouse of information on forwarded emails. It will tell you if the email is true or false and if false, how the hoax began and how it continues. I urge you to use this resource when you get emails that worry you.

The Bible says, “Whatsoever things are true…think on these things.” I urge you to find out the truth before you act in any way on these emails. It’s so easy to just click “forward all” without thinking that we might be participating in a hoax that can waste the time and energy of Christians that can be better directed in the ways of the truth.