The First to State the Case

You may have been like me and felt a level of anger at the young man for being so foolish and disrespectful to a veteran and Native American. You may have commented as I did and said, "this foolishness doesn't represent the pro-life movement or Christianity" in response to all of the negative backlash plastered all over your Facebook newsfeed. With a short video clip, I thought I heard "build that wall" or something hateful, and I knew this needed to be condemned immediately.

I confess, I didn't do any further research than that. I made a judgment on this young man based on his skin color, his clothing, and political affiliation without giving him a chance to speak for himself. If I'm honest, I didn't give the situation more than a few minutes of thought because this stuff happens all the time in the days of president Trump.

At that time, nobody on my newsfeed shared the young man's perspective on the event.

On Sunday morning, I noticed that one of my Facebook friends shared another article with more footage and details about the case. He was back-tracking on his original sentiments regarding the situation, and I took some time to dive into the details. I honestly thought it was just a far-right website trying to disprove the realities of what actually occurred in the video.

In reality, the videos and further evidence disproved some of the "facts" I had just learned about on the previous day:

1. The boys were singing their school fight song rather than chanting "build that wall".
2. A group of "black activists" were harassing the boys. Those activists are so-called Hebrew Israelites (I will spare you the hateful and racist language spewed at the young men). As the Native American group was approaching, you can hear the men saying, "Here comes Gad" and other names of the 12 Israelite tribes because they believe Native Americans are Israelites as well.
3. The Native American group was not surrounded by a group of Trump supporters— instead they walked into the group of boys and stopped. Phillips, the man playing the drum, continued with a straight face while a lady standing next to him was taunting and yelling at some of the students in the crowd.

Needless to say, my opinion of the young man has changed. I am not taking a stance on whether he did anything right or wrong. That is not the point of this post, and I am still unsure of everything that went on. In good conscience, I can say that the media painted a picture of the scene that was extremely one-sided.

This is dangerous for many reasons, especially when a high school student and his family are receiving threats of murder and violence over a video, meme, and slanted social media post. More dangerous is the fact that it is sinful and can harden our hearts to the sinfulness of gossip, slander, malice, deceit, and dishonesty. God hates those sins.

As a Christian, there is no excuse for slandering the boy in the video. If we don't know all of the facts, it is best that we pray for his soul as well as the veteran who was involved.This situation has given me time to pause and really think about social media and its impacts on my life. Here are some practical thoughts that I'm going to be prayerfully applying to my life in light of this event:

• Strive to hear both sides of a story before making a judgment or commenting on a matter. If God will judge every "careless word" I speak, then I should probably be more "quick to hear and slow to speak" (Matthew 12:36, James 1:19). Social media gives more opportunity to multiply the amount of careless words I speak, and I fear the amount I've racked up in the 12-ish years I've been using Facebook.
• Examine the "facts" of a situation before believing them. As the Proverb above states, until the first person to speak is examined, I can't claim to have a balanced, unbiased view of the situation. Even with video evidence, the person who hits back is still usually the one gets caught. The scriptures are replete with warnings about smooth talkers and deceivers, Satan is still crafty and would love to have believers sinning in their speech.
• Resolve to speak about people in comments and conversations what I would say to their face or before a Holy God in prayer. If I were sitting across a coffee shop table praying for and with that young man, I don't think "racist", "bigot", "idiot", etc. would be my language toward him. I would be seeking to understand his perspective and trying to point him to the person and work of Christ. Ephesians 4:15calls me to speak the truth "in love", not gossip and slander in anger and gossip.
• Refuse to show partiality in any given situation. As a politically and religiously conservative Christian in the Trump era, it is easy to get frustrated and be ridiculed. Being black makes the situation more challenging because my spheres of influence are often opposed to one another. Regardless, I can't show partiality toward pro-lifers or against people who are pro-Trump. I also can't side with "black activists" simply because they were in a scuffle with some kids wearing MAGA hats. I must side with truth, even if it isn't convenient in one of the spheres of influence in my life. There is so much malice and deceit in the media, that I have no choice but to heavily fact-check and strive to be pure in speech like the God I love and serve (Psalm 12:6).
• Genuinely pray for the souls of people I'm tempted to gossip about. I haven't prayed for either of the people in this video, have you? God knows. If I have given more time to speaking about these people than praying for them, I am doing them no good whatsoever and am wasting valuable time God gave me in sinful gossip and slander. If these people are important enough to be in my conversations, they are important to pray for (1 Timothy 2:1).​

In times like these, I feel the shame and embarrassment of being manipulated by the media. Worse, I have sinned against God and man through my sinful speech. I have become increasingly aware of the effect that social media is having on my life and the lives of the world around me.

There is hope for us, and that hope is found in Jesus. "In these last days, God has spoken to us through His Son" (Hebrews 1:2). If your life is anchored in the true words of the gospel, no matter how deceitful the media is, you have a firm foundation.

The truth is that Jesus came into the world to save sinners, including people like me who fall into gossip and slander. He made purification for sin, resurrected, and is now sitting enthroned in heaven at His Father's right hand. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to show us the Word of God which is the truth.

Jesus' high priestly prayer includes these words: "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth" (John 17:17). If I spend more time with God is His true Word than I do in this world with their false words, I'll be sanctified. If I let the Word of God dwell in me and rule my thoughts, words, actions, and emotions, I'll become more like Christ minute-by-minute, day-by-day, hour-by-hour. As I behold the Son, I'm being transformed into His image.