The other day, I received an email from an acquaintance, which quite frankly, TICKED ME OFF! It wasn’t so much the contents and message but the ill-intent which caught my attention and raised my ire a bit.

Growing up, I had heard of many churches imploding due to the amount of gossip, rumors and lies which would begin, fester and grow like a cancer. And, like cancer, parts would be amputated as growth would stunt. And, as the nature of the disease is, the Body of Christ would never quite be the same afterwards.

Similarly, the Internet and email have become the new fertile ground for gossip, rumors and outright lies. Some young people have even taken to “cyber-bullying” which has resulted in at least one suicide.

During the last presidential election, the Internet and email were used to create and propogate lies about the candidates in the name of Information which might have played a vital role in the outcome. Instead of focusing on the platforms and issues, questions of marital infidelity, citizenship and religious beliefs circled the candidates and their running mates.

At present, our current president has been the constant target of personal attacks on his religious beliefs and citizenship without provocation.

A few things to address:

1. If you didn’t put the most effort in supporting your candidate of choice, shame on you. Next time, do so.

2. Our present president IS the elected official and is due the respect of his office. God has put him in that position for a reason. Accept and embrace it.

3. If you are unhappy with how things are going in our government, please do the following: PRAY for our president that God will direct his decision-making; become personally involved by taking an active role by researching and promoting a candidate; ALWAYS PRAY for God’s involvement in the leadership of our governing officials.

In the meantime, STOP the gossip, churning the rumor mills and lies. If you receive and read an email or other communication which slanders another, research and determine it’s validity through such Websites as www.snopes.com or www.truthorfiction.com (which list their sources). Then, post the link to the findings of your research in a “Reply to All” email and encourage OTHERS to stop the gossip, rumors and lies!

Together we can both stop this nonsense AND build a greater nation. And it can start with YOU!