This morning I read a headline and asked myself if it was even true. When did I get so skeptical? It wasn’t even political! But with A.I. and deep fakes and the embrace of lies, how can we know?

I find myself closing in and trusting my gut. I ignore serial liars. They’ve declared themselves and I’ve found indifference to them to be a useful tool. (And it’s probably their greatest enemy.) I pay less and less attention to the absurd. I abhor evil. I cling to what is good. But defining what’s evil and what’s good differs from person to person. Some people abhor drag shows. Some abhor assault weapons.

Battles like this will rage on forever. It’s about interpretation of one’s moral code. Take the death issue, for example. I think very few people have a consistent ethic about death across these lines-abortion, death penalty, starvation in other countries, and assault weapons. They’re all about death, but I think most people would be “anti” some and “pro” some. Having a consistent ethic is easier said than done.

But this stuff is nothing new. Humans differ. We have different experiences. We rely on different sources. We even define “God’s will” differently.

I guess for me it comes down to two things. Compassion and grace. Even towards the uncompassionate and judgmental, the liars and the still-growing. Grace gives time and space for change. (Thank God…) It doesn’t call evil good. That’s a misunderstanding about grace. We can’t abhor evil and call it okay at the same time. It’s just that it’s the most remarkable change agent in the whole world. At least that’s been my experience.  

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

So what are we going to do?

That.