In the Book of Jeremiah we read: “O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?” (Jeremiah 5:3). The Apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” (Ephesians 4:25).
Most of us want to be truthful in everything we say. While we sometimes condone what we call “little white lies” we still want to be known as people of integrity who speak only words that are true.
If we are truly people of integrity we are very careful in our daily conversation about passing on information about our friends or relatives or neighbors that may not be accurate. To be sure we are not saying something that may be fallacious we go to the original source to determine if what we have been told is 100% true. When we conduct any business we want to be completely transparent and honest.
In spite of the fact that there was a movie a few years ago that attempted to show how difficult it is to always be completely truthful, we realize that not only does God expect us to speak the truth but our society as a whole still expects us to be honest in what we say.
We hold in contempt the sales persons who deliberately misrepresent their products so that they can make a sale. Years ago I tried to sell some books door-to-door. (I will not identity them since they were very honest books). The person who trained me tried to teach me that if a person asked a question about something in the books and I did not know the answer it was OK to just make up an answer. It did not take me long to realize that I could not and would not make sales calls in that manner.
In spite of the fact that we pride ourselves on being honorable persons whose words can be trusted, we have become guilty of using the Internet to pass on information that is not true. Almost every day I get an E-mail that contains information about something that is totally or, at least, partially erroneous. This was especially so during the past (2008) election. Both parties were guilty of disseminating false information about the candidates of the opposite party.
Today we call these fallacious E-mails “urban legends.” Some have been floating around in cyberspace for many years. I would like to appeal to all who use the Internet to please do some checking before you pass on any E-mails. Some can sound so authentic but be partially or completely false. A short list of resources follows – use them to become a sleuth for truth yourself. Perhaps the classic wisdom, “If it sounds or claims to be too good to be true, it is probably not true” is the best guide or advice. Unfortunately, in our rush to judgment or communicate, especially if the subject is a pet of ours, we just can’t wait to forward this story or that great bit of information (or gossip). Gossip never had such speedy resources before the Internet and e-mail. An older, and wise friend of mine in Arizona once told me, “Bill, 95% of the ‘stories’ you get via e-mail are simply lies.” My friend might be accused of exaggerating but I would rather bet on his advice than become a liar because of passing on false or incorrect information.
Here is a partial list of resources to become a Sleuth for Truth:
http://www.truthorfiction.com/
http://www.snopes.com/
http://www.scientificamerican.com/section.cfm?id=fact-or-fiction
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Belief_(television)
If you want to be known as a person of integrity in your personal dealings with others, then please be such a person when you use the Internet.
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THANKS TO my friend Robert J. Tinsky, in Oblong, Illinois, for the majority of thoughts expressed above; some suggestions of my own have been added to Bob’s thoughts. THANKS BOB! THE WORDWRIGHT