Contemplative Bible Reading

Isaiah 11:3 (New Living Translation)

3 He will delight in obeying the Lord.
He will not judge by appearance
nor make a decision based on hearsay.

Most folks who study these things believe these verses from the prophet Isaiah are describing Jesus Christ. The prior verses tell us that the Spirit of the Lord will rest on this person. And that is the spirit of wisdom and understanding.

Note what this person will believe and use: NOT merely what is seen (appearance) and NOT what may be heard (hearsay). The person with the Spirit of the Lord will rely on more.

I believe this can be applied directly to what we call “deepfakes,” i.e., those made up videos that show people doing this and saying that. This and that were never done or said by the person, but it sure looks (appearance) and sounds (hearsay) like the person did and said them.

Life can be difficult today. We can certainly make life difficult today. There is so much video and audio and photographs everywhere all the time. Look at this, listen to that. Can you believe so-and-so would do and say this and that?

I believe the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, provides me what I need to avoid all the this and that and other junk in our world. Let’s pause, breathe, pray, and look to God. Let’s keep our mouths shut and our social media commentaries quieted. God leads me when I get out of my own way. It is up to me to get out of my own way. Please God, help me to not judge by appearance and not decide based on hearsay.