by Dr. Amanda McElroy
Have you ever made a decision, thinking you had all the facts, only to discover afterwards that not only were you not in possession of all the facts, but that had you been you would have made a different decision altogether? Mercy me, I have. With the prevalence of social media and digital platforms for exercising our first amendment rights, there is more information available to society today than in the history of the world. With a few keystrokes, one can learn the most obscure facts that our parents and grandparents would have spent hours scouring encyclopedia volumes to find. This easy access to information is a double-edged sword. As with most technological advances, it is a tool that can be used for great good or for great evil. The easy ability to hide behind a keyboard and spew hateful opinions couched as absolute truth has emboldened members of society. No longer are we held accountability for our words, and no longer to all words have consequences for the speaker. This puts truth-seekers in a quandary. There is a desire to be able to believe the information put in front of us, but those providing the information are no longer held accountable for the validity of that information. Spreading opinions, lies and slander has become a normal standard of behavior on social media platforms. Modern society has begun to believe all the information being presented digitally and has ceased to question the credibility of the information and the source.
Occasionally a former staff member or client will publish a slanderous post on social media or as a review. I have no issue with individuals exercising their first amendment rights, however, I am amazed and horrified at the number of individuals who will believe one person’s presentation of alleged facts without knowing any more details about the situation or others involved. What happened to trust but verify as a life principle?
As leaders, we often receive information expressed as absolute fact. It is easy to immediately leap into action, especially when we trust the person from whom the information came. However, as Christians, we have been commanded to walk through this world with awareness. In Matthew 10:6, Christ instructs Christians with the following: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” What a mental picture! When we receive information that appears to need a decision, we should follow this instruction and strive to be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. How much better would our decision-making be if we approached it with the desire to be wise and harmless? I would venture to say that some of our businesses would be turned upside down in a positive way.
Esther chapter three tells a story that would have ended very differently had the leader verified the information being received before making his decision. King Ahasuerus was approached by one of his top advisors, Haman, with information that felt important and critical. Haman told the king that there was a group of people in the kingdom that refused to abide by the king’s laws. Hamah advised the king to destroy the entire group of people. This is a big request! Haman was requesting permission to enact genocide of an entire people. The logic was that they were lawless, and it was not in the king’s best interest to allow them to remain alive. Haman asked the King to put in writing a law that would call for the destruction of that people group, and the King immediately agreed! Haman was sneaky about this law, he not only had the king made a decree about it, which would be enough on its own, but he had the king seal the written decree with his signate ring and make the law permanent so that nobody (including the king) could overturn it once sealed. Here’s the problem, beyond the obvious issue of sanctioning murder: the real reason behind Haman’s request was not the reason he provided the king. You see, when the king promoted Haman to his royal position, one of the position perks was that when he went through the streets of the town the people would bow to him. There was one man who would not bow. There was one man who would not bow to a man and do reverence to him as if her were a god. That man was what we would label today as a Christian: he believed in God, and he was a Jew. The man’s name was Mordecai, the uncle of Queen Esther. Haman become so enraged that Mordecai would not bow to him that he wanted Mordecai destroyed. He could not exact his revenge on just Mordecai, so he came up with an alternate solution – convince the king to massacre all the Jews and in the great slaughter Haman could ensure that Mordecai died. How arrogant! How evil! King Ahasuerus was manipulated into agreeing to slaughter an entire people group because Haman’s pride was injured by Mordecai. In the end, Queen Esther was able to reveal to the King the true purpose behind the new decree he issued. The King regretted his decision, but even he could not violate the law he had put into effect. Instead, he allowed the Jews to defend themselves. There was a great battle on the appointed day of the genocide because King Ahasuerus trusted Haman but did not verify the information being presented before acting on it.
From time to time, someone in my sphere will make a decision that affects me without first verifying their facts, or even having all the needed facts to make an informed and wise decision. It frustrates me greatly to have to live with the consequences of these decisions. As I sit here, I am contemplating the appropriate response to once such decision. A decision made on unverified hearsay that has the potential to greatly impact my professional life. I cannot undo the decision, and I will be careful to honor the Lord in my response. Above all else, I am sitting here grieving in my heart for the times I was the one who made a decision that affected someone else negatively without verifying my information or having all the facts. I’m so very glad we can learn from our own failures, and from the stories the Bible provides so that we can be better tomorrow than we are today.
As a leader, I don’t know what I don’t know until I have taken the time to do my due diligence and gather all the facts. Some decisions cannot be undone. Most decisions will affect other people. I hope to always strive to be wise as a serpent, and harmless as a dove as I am instructed in Matthew 10:6
