Thursday, October 13, 2016

Propaganda or Truth?

Dalai Lama's Palace

I don't remember the year exactly, but around 1999, Andy & I went to Lhasa, Tibet to visit a friend and to look for opportunities to help people.  Tibet was a closed communist country and we were required to have a "guide" the entire time we were there.  The guide did actually give us tours, but they were also placed with us to make sure we weren't detrimental to their country.  Before we went, we were even told to assume our motel room would probably be "bugged."

One day, Andy was with the guide touring the Dalai Lama's palace (I chose to forego the climb) and I was out touring the city with our friend.  All of a sudden, a voice came over the loud speakers placed around the entire city.  Since my friend could speak Tibetan, I asked her what they were saying.  Her reply was, "Oh, just a bunch of propaganda."  I was kind of stunned.  It wasn't my first time to be in a communist country, but it was my first time to be confronted with propaganda being blared so blatantly.  Her words never left me.

I came home and began paying attention to what was going on around me in the good ol' USA.  Were we being fed propaganda and weren't even aware of it?  Remember...this was 17 years ago.  I began noticing then that newscasters weren't even trying to be objective anymore.  More recently, I've been paying even closer attention.  Not only are we being fed propaganda, but great diversions are being created to get our attention elsewhere so people can change the direction we're going while we're not looking.

I encourage you to be aware.  If a herd of sheep are resting quietly in a pasture and a small dog runs into their space--they'll all react in fear and take off running together.  Ewes have even been known to abort their babies in a situation like that.  Don't be like a sheep and run with the mob in fear.  Take a quiet seat and observe.  And while you're watching, ask God to reveal truth.

A good question to ask the Father is, "What are You doing?"  And, "How can I agree with You?"

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