Mob Justice
This really grinds my gears! How we have become a society of mob justice. In this country, the law was designed as an innocent until proven guilty. I was watching Good Morning America (GMA) and there was a call to boycott all R. Kelly music. The call was to delete all music you’ve ever had for the artists, to remove record labels, commercials, etc. Currently K. Kelly is not facing any criminal charges, just an investigation, and is not certain they will ever make it to court, and that being said, how can we as a people put together this lynch mob and pretend like we are the ones to determine guilt, and how we determine guilt now based on rumor, conjecture, and popular opinion.
I remember loosing my job because I was accused of something a few years ago. I remember being charged with a crime, but there was more to it then what was told to the powers that had the choice to sign a warrant or not. The sad part was, being accused cost me my job. Not being convicted mind you, and just al allegation was enough to fundamentally destroyed my career. We have become a society that a rumor, or allegation is just the same as a guilty verdict. We are not in the days of pitchforks and witch hunts, but instead we are in the twitter and Facebook accack world. Public opinion can be everything in our world, and I must say, how sad that is.
Scripture is clear about how we are to act as Christians, and sadly if you look at the percentage of Christians in America there is supposed to be around 70% of the population. Proverbs 17:4 (NKJV)4 “An evildoer gives heed to false lips; A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue.” If we are not part of the case, or apart of the witnesses, we need to learn to keep our mouths and opinions to ourselves. Exodus 23:1“You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.” If we do not know if a report is false or true, we really should just keep our mouths shut. Leviticus 19:16 “You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.” Rumors can destroy lives, and we seem to have so much power, it’s ridiculous.
We are Christian and although it’s necessary to call out sin in those we see, we are supposed to only speak things in which edify others. We have become a society in which one off color joke, or one rumor, can cost someone everything. We’ve become a society in which a Christian having a beer in a restaurant is a treasonous sin, and then everyone knows that (someone) had a drink with dinner. Rumors do truly hurt people, and judging people not only hurts feelings, but can destroy lives.
We need to take a step back from the social media uproars, and allow justice to happen within the court of law. We are not privy to investigation details, and we are not informed of everything in the media, and the media itself is often biased to juicy details even if they aren’t exactly true, because it builds ratings. We have a responsibility as Christians to watch what we say and that’s not just verbal word, but also on social media. We have a responsibility to spread love, not dissention. We have a responsibility to truth, not rumors. Let us not get swept up in the social media crucifixions of people. Let us wait for facts before passing judgments of guilt or innocence. Let us not be at home jury’s. During the last decade, we saw this during the Michael Brown case, the Zimmermon case, Bill Cosby (who was found guilty), and many more. Let time evidence speak the truth, not conjecture and rumors. Regardless if R. Kelly is guilty or not, it’s not our place to determine that guilt, especially just based on what we hear over social media, or the news, or through our friends.
We are not Batman, and while I respect the idea of some vigilante justice, Batman does not attack those who are innocent, and he does not just make judgments without first obtaining evidence. We have a responsibility to the truth, and to seek truth. We must realize that when we gossip, when we spread rumors, when we judge quickly without the facts, we are talking the Devils language, half-truths. We are all guilty of this I’m sure, and we all need to be more conscience of what comes out of our mouths, or fingers.
The Arrow Preacher 