Today’s world is filled with sensational messages designed to grab our attention. These clickbait headlines promise more than they deliver, leading us into a maze of misinformation. This practice not only deceives readers, but it also has delegitimized advertising and journalism.
As consumers of information, it’s crucial to develop a critical eye. When we encounter a headline that is outrageous or enticing, it is imperative to consider the source and the content behind it. Are we being presented with facts, or worse, facts mixed with lies with carefully crafted narratives aimed at suppressing the truth?
Understanding the techniques behind clickbait can help us navigate this labyrinth more wisely. Instead of falling for sensationalism, we should seek to identify the truth in every area of life. By prioritizing truth, we can rise above the noise, the noise that started thousands of years ago with the first clickbait by the father of lies, “Did God really say…?”
Know This
The violation of the law of the malicious witness is destroying us, our families, our marriages, our society, our country, and our world. What is the law of the malicious witness? In the Ten Commandments, it is the ninth one, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” But this is where we must ask ourselves, what is bearing a false witness?
The characteristics of a false witness have several attributes:
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- Intentional Deception: Bearing false witness involves a willful act of misleading others.
- Harm to others; It commonly affects reputations, livelihoods, and even the outcome of life-and-death legal decisions.
- Violation of the Divine; To bear false witness is to reject the character of the One who is the truth.
The malicious witness is prevalent in so many areas of our world; there is no way to identify them all. However, there is a standard for the opposite of a false witness: the true witness.
This standard requires several things: first off, one person’s eyewitness account automatically disqualifies their testimony as true. There must be two or three witnesses for the testimony to be even considered. “A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deuteronomy 19:15). Jesus references this standard in Matthew 18:16 and John 8, and the Apostle Paul repeated it. “This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” (2 Corinthians 13:1).
Why is That?
The question must be asked: why has this teaching been all but ignored in the modern era? Ask yourself this: have you even heard of this until now? Then ask, why is that?
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power.
What is the commandment to us now at these times: “Have nothing to do with such people.” See: 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Remember the definition of slanderous: relating to or being a false, malicious, and defamatory statement or report.
Now What?
Value the truth, live the Psalm 1 principle, obey the commandment of Scripture “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8) Another words, have nothing to do with the clickbait of this world, is there another definition for the word nothing? “Have nothing to do with such people…”
