A young woman just starting her job as a bank teller, asked her boss this question: “How will I know real money from counterfeit?” Her boss answered, “There are new counterfeits everyday. They don’t matter. You will handle so much real money, you will know when something feels off. Study only the true money, and the fakes become obvious.” The young woman was me, and I never forgot the wisdom in that lesson.
Now we are surrounded by fake luxury goods, fake claims, fake news, and fake leaders all around us, so how can we wisely discern what is real from what is counterfeit? The fakes are getting better, but those familiar with what is real can expertly sniff them out.
Who is trustworthy? We can begin with this question: Do their actions align with their own words? What do their life choices produce?
No one is perfect, and many things are out of our control, but in general we have some agency in life, some ability to reap what we sow with our daily habits. Look to nature, we expect apple trees to produce apples. We know them by their fruit. We can observe people this way, too.
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
It seems obvious, but remember that the fakes are getting better. We need to guard ourselves against being easily deceived, and we do this by focusing on truth.
Sometimes the truth makes us very uncomfortable. This is often because of our human tendency toward cognitive dissonance. When we receive new information that contradicts our old beliefs, it can feel threatening to our identity.
Let yourself feel that discomfort, rather than distracting yourself or numbing that feeling, but do not be overcome or ruled by your emotions.
7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
What about possible fake news or false claims? Learn to ask better questions that seek clarity and look for evidence without jumping to conclusions. By learning to reason logically, we can train ourselves to seek truth and reject rhetoric. We are all naturally life-long learners, so you got this!
