“The Jews also joined in the attack, alleging that these things were true.”
Acts 24:9 (CSB)
Paul stood in a room filled with accusations. The high priest, the Jewish leaders, and their orator had come with charges, calling Paul a troublemaker, a ringleader, and part of a sect. Then the Jews joined in the attack, saying all these things were true. But noise does not make something true. Unity in accusation does not turn a lie into truth.
We see this same spirit in our world today. When someone’s sin or secret is discovered, news and social media begin throwing verbal stones. We try to cancel people, make them null and void, and erase all the good they’ve done because of a failure, a mess-up, or a slip-up. Paul was called a troublemaker, but he was really a peacemaker. He disturbed the artificial peace man had created so people could live in peace with God by following the Way.
Here is what feels even more dangerous to me. A room full of strong voices can repeat falsehoods with so much passion that lies begin to sound true. The longer we hang around accusations, allegations, and falsehoods, the more they can begin to sound good. If we participate, engage, or keep listening to rooms like that, we can start believing what the enemy is using to deceive us through the wisdom of man. The only truth that exists is what God’s Word says. He is truth, and the truth will set us free.
We have got to run away from the noise of this world. We have got to escape into the quiet and listen to what God’s Word says. We live in a day where the lies of the world can sound and appear like truth, but I pray the Holy Spirit helps us discern the lies around us and draws us back to the Word of God. It’s in the quiet with God where we hear the truth without all the volume and deceptiveness of this world.