In light of my last post, Live Not By Lies II, I am suggesting that you do three important things: 1) don’t let lies go unchallenged. This only emboldens the purveyors of falsehood by implying that you agree with their claims, 2) if your gut tells you that you are dealing with an open-minded person who will have honest and respectful dialogue and you have time to do so, then jump in… remember you may learn something yourself, and 3) do not waste time with anyone whom you, by your own judgment, is not willing to honestly listen and respectfully respond. Walk away.
I am suggesting that when you see posts that are making false claims – especially those promoting immorality or totalitarianism and/or attacking faith, that you do the following:
Initial Response Post, “This is not true. We who greatly value truth will not live by lies.”
Follow Up Response – if you choose to respond thereafter to their answer discuss the substance of your claim, first state,
“I strive to be a good steward of the time allotted to me in this life. I choose to spend time in activities that I see as profitable to others and myself. Therefore, I will have a discussion with you on this topic if and only if I determine that 1) you have an open mind to what I have to say and that 2) you will engage in this discussion with unwavering respect to my person. Once I perceive that either of these are not the case, I will terminate the discussion on my end.”
I encourage open public dialogue. Engage when you believe it is helpful to those who share the planet with us and want to discuss respectfully. YOU also should be committed to remaining respectful – do not attack or disparage the other person – focus only on attacking their arguments. Do not get sucked in emotionally to a level that you want to strike back at the other person. They are a human being and all human beings ought to be treated with respect. If you feel yourself getting upset, walk away. Responding disrespectfully only serves to confirm what they may already think – that you are unstable lunatic and therefore the views you are espousing come from whack jobs. This only makes the situation worse. Walk away and return when you are calm and can focus on the argument, not the person or your ego.
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For His glory,
Jim