Discerning the False

I was always good at taking tests.  Even if I didn't know the subject matter, I could successfully guess my way through most questions.  No matter how tough the question, with a quick process of elimination, I could easily be down to two choices.  It's not always about finding out which choice is right.  Sometimes it's easier to just rule out the ones that are wrong.

My favorite questions are True/False statements.  The single most important rule in analyzing True/False statements is every part of a true statement must be true.  If any one part of the statement is false, the whole statement is false despite many other truths.  You don't always have to know what is true.  If you can recognize any part as being false, you can confidently mark the whole statement as false, and move on.

Often in life, we get inundated with problems that completely overwhelm us physically, mentally, and spiritually.  The reason is that problems by definition force us to make decisions on how will we respond to them.  Most problems don't just go away.  They stand there nagging, whispering, and tapping their foot waiting for you to reveal your strategy on dealing with it.  Like a crying baby needing to be fed, problems want attention, and they want to know what are you going to do about it.

You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked Proverbs 3:25

Problems don't wait until you've had 8 hours of sleep and 2 cups of coffee.  Most of our problems come upon us suddenly.  Suddenly, you lost a job.  Suddenly, you get a letter from your kid's school, your lawyer, or the IRS.  Suddenly, you have problems, and you need sudden solutions.  In the heat of the moment, when the pressure is on, what will you do?  What can you do?  Our immediate response would be to strategize, brainstorm, or grab at anything that looks like an answer.  But like the strategy for True/False statements, If any part of your solution isn't of faith, then the entire solution isn't of faith.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

Any imagination, thought, or plan born out of fear, must be immediately arrested and investigated. If God never gave us fear, then anything born of our fear must NOT be from God. We may not know what the answer is, but there is a sure way to know what isn't. We make a lot of mistakes in the heat of the moment. Our survival instincts immediately kick in when our health, security, and peace is threatened. No matter how well we think we know how to fix the situation, most of the time, it does the opposite.

There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. Proverbs 14:12

Sometimes, the most spiritual thing you can do is to circle False, then go to bed.

Be still, and know that I am God! Psalm 46:10


Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. Psalm 30:5