Spotting the Spin

One of the readers of the last post mentioned the word "slanted" in referring to the way information is disseminated and that got me thinking about the reality that not only do we need to check out the truthfulness of the information that is published, we must recognize that truth can be "spun" to advance an agenda or make another person look bad. Let me see if I can give an example... ...A couple of years ago, a popular news source reported that during the administration of the current administration gasoline prices had risen to near-record levels. That statement was true. However, it would have been equally true to report that during the curernt administration gasoline prices had risen to near the record levels reached during the administration of the former administration. It would also have been just as true to report that gasoline prices had risen to near record levels during the past 2 years. Do you see the point? Each of the above statements is true, but the way they are crafted can serve to simply give information, advance an agenda, or make someone look bad. The Bible has a term for learning to "spot the spin". That term is "discernment". At no time do we need discernment more than when we are reading or viewing those who play to our particular frame of reference politically and socially. Maybe more on that another time, but for now it is enough that we develop the practice of discernment.