Did he misspeak or did he lie?
Honestly, we all misspeak from time to time. When we realize it, we have the opportunity to own up to it. Some folks however make an art of misspeaking. The false argument can be used to mislead folks because the logic is all there. The facts make sense, but the truth of the situation is hidden.
Have you ever heard a false argument? How did you respond?
Identifying a false argument can be a little tricky. I think I heard one this morning, but I’d have to go back and do some research to be sure. It went something like this. Person A claimed Group 1 wanted to do something. That something would not help Situation A. Honestly, I thought Group 1 wanted to do that to help a different situation.
The end result in an argument like this one is that you believe Group 1 to not know what they were talking about – even if they never said it.
Confused? That’s why some folks use a false argument. By they time they are done, you are agreeing with them, but you’ve changed your mind because you’ve lost sight of where you started.
Here is an example from the Bible that will show you clearer what I mean.
And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Genesis 2:15-17
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Genesis 3:1-6
First note that Eve got it wrong when she said that they were not allowed to touch it. However, the serpent skipped over that part and went straight for the pride issue. He accused God of lying, and he said it would make her wise. Translation: he told her God had a motive for keeping her dumb.
She got so busy focusing on what she had to gain, and what God was hiding from her, that she fell for the trap. She was deceived.
False arguments do that to us too. His argument was a false argument because the real issue was her obedience to God, and not what she had to lose or gain. We can be pulled off the main issue rapidly too. We need to be careful.
LIFE APPLICATION
Today’s challenge is keep your focus on the main issue that is in front of you. Keep your focus on what God says is right. Don’t be swayed by all the related gibberish that may or may not be true. Ask God to give you wisdom to see through all the smoke and mirrors that exist in the world today so that you can live more effectively for Him.