Love always trusts
1 Corinthians 13:7
This is not about gullibility. God knows we need wisdom on social media more than ever to siphon out false news and fake information. The most applicable English phrase of speech which I believe gives the proper sense is: give people the benefit of the doubt. Don’t start by doubting people’s incentives and motives. Believe they mean the best. Don’t assume people are out to get you or hurt you. If there is doubt, then you deal with it. But social media is very limited in presenting all the information at once. You can’t often see every piece of the puzzle, and you are left to interpret what you have available. We must interpret everything we see and read. So assume innocence until proven guilty. Do not judge according to first appearances, but judge with righteous judgement. When you are tempted to get mad and upset over someone’s ignorance or lack of prudence, give a fighting chance for them that they didn’t mean it that way. This is the opposite of being irritable; you are looking for ways to work things out rather than cause problems. Don’t pick a fight with the way someone says something if it could be read a different way. Seek clarification. Don’t presume peoples motives (this is a really, really tough one!) If they say they are honest, move forward with that baseline until they prove otherwise. But we are not seeking to corner people. We are not looking for the “Gotcha!” moment. If someone messes up and repents or seeks restitution, give them that 490th chance. Deal with them honestly, create safeguards and healthy rules for the relationship, but believe that people (especially brethren) can love each other as Christ has loved them.
Next: Hope