13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:13-15)
Stand Firm
Those words echoed in my head today as a pondered the best way to stand firm against media bias. in our current age. We need to keep pushing for the truth, while we remain righteous in what we do and say.
In Acts, we read the story of Paul traveling around the Mediterranean. He angered a number of people as he spoke about his faith. People wanted to kill him, and many plotted ways to make it happen. King Felix placed Paul in jail for a couple of years to assuage people. Eventually, Felix was displaced by Fetus, and Festus agreed to hear Paul’s case.
In Acts 25:10-11: 10 Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
Appeal to Caesar
There have been theologians who debate the importance of this appeal. At the end of the trial, Festus himself said – if he had not appealed to Caesar, he would have let him go. By referring to a higher authority, Paul began a long series of adventures that led to his death.
It should not be overlooked that Paul was jailed for 2 years without a trial, and without official cause. Who of us would not feel frustrated, and uncertain about what was coming next? Pushing for any action was indeed the appropriate thing to do. It seems today that people or police are being accused on the basis of little or no evidence, or evidence by the media which only shows a biased, preloaded perspective.
There used to be a time in the pre-civil rights days when people were lynched for the color of their skin. It was a dark time, which I am glad preceded my lifetime. If people of today can be outraged over the lack of justice in those times, why is it that only conservatives feel a similar outrage today for the lack of justice? The liberal perspective paints people as racist and ‘white supremacy’ oriented when there is no truth to it.
In this story about Felix in Acts, he had a singular perspective to appeal to a single group of (biased) people. No option was presented for argument. Paul was simply thrown in jail for 2 years. There was no option for defense. When we overlay the scenario of today regarding the media, when we listen closely we will hear one (biased) perspective, and no statement is provided to hear the other side’s defense. It was no fair in Roman times, and it is not fair today.
Plan for Defense
What can we do about it? An “appeal to Caesar’ may not be the best defense, when all the world is allied against you. Our defense remains as it was indicated in Ephesians 6, even with this caveat. 1) Stand firm without wavering. 2) Do not put any untruth in your defense. 3) Stay righteous.
It can be difficult to stay true to God and stand firm against the abuses the world gives us. The reward is a peace that the world will never understand, and future glory that an unrepentant world will not receive.
