Copy / Paste
You always want to be explain what you believe and why (1 Pet 3:15). You never want to be guilty of simply “copying and pasting” what someone else said and use that as the basis for your convictions.
There’s a lot of that going on today. You’ll hear people rant about policies and personalities, yet when you look at what they use to justify their indignation, you’re met with what sounds like a script that they’ve just copied and pasted from their favorite news outlet.
There’s nothing wrong with citing a credible resource, but you want to make sure that it’s credible before you refer to it as conclusive.
Fact is, it’s possible to be honest without telling the whole truth.
- Some will pose as outraged by a particular behavior, yet are suspiciously silent when that same behavior is exhibited in those they support.
- Others are critical of the accomplishments of those they disagree with, yet applaud those same accomplishments when done by those they admire.
It’s more than a double standard, because you have to have a standard to begin with in order for it to be duplicated.
If you’re among those that define an “open mind” as someone who will say things like, “What’s true for you isn’t necessarily true for me,” you’ve declared yourself to be utterly meaningless, because, according to your own logic, a person can accuse you of being a liar and not be wrong.
You want to “evaluate” all of the relevant facts based on their substance and relevance to the issue being discussed. You don’t want to simply “eliminate” those facts that are credible, yet contradict the conclusion that aligns with what you want to hear. However compelling an appeal for pity may sound, it’s revealed as a fool’s paradise when it’s determined that the pain they’re feeling is a result of them having shot themselves in the foot.
If you want to be taken seriously, you want to be able to demonstrate the fact that you have evaluated the facts and not just eliminated the facts you don’t want to consider. You do that by being able to explain what you believe and why you believe it, and that’s not accomplished by simply “copying and pasting” from your preferred collection of resources.
