Matthew 24:4 – Jesus answered them saying, “See that you are not led
astray.”
The grammar here is very important. It is on the disciples
to make sure they are not led astray by snake oil salesmen. It is on them, and
us, to test the spirits, to discern truth from lies, and to know the good and
to do it. This seems like an easy thing to do, right? Well, humans tend to
trust people they like and to distrust people they dislike. We want to people
we like to do only good things. Sometimes, we will justify whatever they do to
make it look good. We also want people we dislike to do only bad things. We
will sometimes spin whatever they do to make it look worse. This is not a
consequence of a person’s political ideology. It is a trait we all share.
Right away we have to get over our own human tendency toward
tribalism in order not to be led astray. Not being led astray requires that we
pay attention to what is happening around us. It requires that we think about
the consequences of our actions on ourselves and others before we take them. It
requires reflection about our motives for our own actions. It requires us to
judge another’s character to the best of our ability. If we have not been
taught how to think critically, to self-reflect, or to have good judgment, this
will be difficult. It’s difficult anyway, but the fact that it’s work also puts
us off. We’d much rather see the world as good and bad, without this crazy mixture
of saint and sinner that all of us carry. It is so much easier. Yet, without
doing the work, we set ourselves up to be deceived, to be led astray. We must
cultivate discernment, self-reflection, and good judgment.
We have a political situation in the US that lacks such
discernment. It is clear that Republicans – not the leadership, but the average
Republican – see the world as a competition. The goal is to win. Anything is
acceptable as long as the right person wins. Anything is forgivable as long as
the person has an R after their name. Anything is acceptable as long as “those”
people are hurt. In this case, “those” people are Black people, Latinx people,
Muslims, Jews, LGBTQ people, liberals; anyone who disagreed with even one thing
they say. Their bigotry, racism, sexism, homophobia, nationalism, and belief in
their own righteousness set them up to be exploited by Republicans, especially
our current president. They gave up on Jesus and turned instead to their true
God – white supremacy.
See that you are not led astray. It’s on us to have
discernment, to be able to judge what is true and what is “fake news,” to know
the good and to do it. it’s on us, too, to call out those who would deceive. To
speak out against lies, against policies that will hurt more than they’ll help,
against corruption, against keeping kids in cages, against police brutality
toward Black people, against Nazis and those who would give them safe harbor. It's on us.
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