Mom and dad always said that you can’t believe everything you hear.
I’m pretty sure that’s more true these days than ever before, and the same can also be said about what you see.
When I see and hear what’s presented as “information” by the mainstream media, I’m more often than not left with more questions than I was before being “informed.” And sometimes I just shake my head and think, “how could anyone not question that?”
And I know I’m far from alone, because I hear about it from friends, family members and acquaintances on a frequent basis. It’s obvious that a large number of people are disillusioned with today’s version of “truth,” and they don’t understand why literally everyone isn’t.
But the fact is, there are many, many people who don’t question much at all and aren’t really even fully aware of their surroundings. They’ve bought into the notion that people in high places have their best interests in mind, even though the cat has been out of that bag for some time now.
There’s a word for that kind of thinking: Naïve.
Dictionary.com defines naïve as “having or showing a lack of experience, judgment or information; credulous.” That lack of judgement is where the problems begin, and that lack of information is where they build.
And that final word, “credulous,” is where the baby becomes a behemoth. It’s defined as “willing to believe or trust too readily, especially without proper or adequate evidence; gullible.”
Bingo.
I believe it’s crucial these days to avoid that kind of mentality and seek out “proper and adequate” information rather than just be ready to take whatever story is presented as the one and only reality – even though that might be the more difficult path to take.
Make no mistake, being naïve is nothing new. The subject is even touched upon numerous times by multiple sources in the Bible.
King Solomon called out naïve behavior several times in his writings. In Proverbs 14:15 he says, “The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.” Then in Proverbs 27:12 he says, “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.”
Being naïve comes up more than once in the New Testament as well.
In Romans 16:18, the Apostle Paul warns against taking to heart the nonsensical, fraudulent and propaganda-like material distributed by certain people in certain positions of authority.
“For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.”
And then in 1 Corinthians 14:20, Paul tries to get people to heighten their awareness and “wake up.”
“Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.”
Those are some strong words spoken by a highly-respected and anointed man, and with love as the driving force. It’s great that Paul left that type of Godly advice for us to benefit from, but it’s up to each individual to understand that there’s potential deception around every corner nowadays, and that evil really, truly is hard at work right under our noses.
Anyway, by not taking measures to recognize actual truth versus the distorted, theatrical variety, we’re only setting ourselves up for a fall. A very hard fall.
Kudos to all the folks who are separating themselves from the popular informational model and decided not to go through life like an “NPC” (non-playing character) in a tabletop game. It’s not easy and the “backlash” can be pretty strong.
But I believe that not being naïve is worth it.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.