| uesday October 27, 2020 Good afternoon. ” I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16 There is a new theory that has come across my desk about the deaths by the coronavirus. It has been reported by news sources, and now President Trump is quoting it in his speeches leading up to the election. The report goes as follows. Doctors in the United States are misreporting the death of their patients. They sign off on patients that have died of something else, and they say it is because of COVID. They are doing it because they get more money for it. Is this true ? How do you decide if any story is true on social media ?You cannot fact check them all. I re-posted one about the Israeli government killing millions of Palestians since 1947. A friend kindly told me that it wasn’t true, but you better check it. I checked it and I was wrong. My passion for the rights of Palestinians, had me click to quickly. This is how myths and lies are multiplied on the Internet. The quote above is from Jesus. He is ready to send out his disciples into the world, and this is the advice he gives to them. With their new message of Jesus’ role in the world, Jesus told them they needed these skills to know what to do and say to the people that they met. What does it mean for you to be ” shrewd ” in your living out the Gospel. It seems being shrewd and innocent are polar opposites. How can we be both, at the same time ? Being a Christian is hard sometimes. How do we discern together ? I believe the story of misreporting COVID deaths is a lie and a myth. It deflects the seriousness of the disease, and it puts blames on the doctors, rather than fighting the disease. Why would someone think that denigrating doctors and health care workers would be a good idea ? And who is getting the money ? Be as shrewd as a rattlesnake, and innocent as a baby robin. Fred Tread on bold new paths! Fireflies flash the direction Hope springs eternal ! Monica Pieper Landoni 2020 |
