Scripture
Our verse for today comes from Acts 8:14, “When word reached the apostles in Jerusalem that Samaria had accepted God’s word, they commissioned Peter and John to go to Samaria.”
Background
Some research was done a few years ago regarding the saying, “Good news travels fast, bad news travels faster.” Specifically, the researchers conducted experiments to analyze the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) dissemination of information. What they found was a negativity bias in consumers who share secondhand information online. Their results showed several tendencies, among them: People disseminate more negative information than positive; People disseminate negative information to more people and for a longer period of time; Negative information shared is more elaborated on and detailed; There are more negative reactions to positive information. Now, I assume that your first reaction upon reading these results is to weigh your perception of yourself against the behavior of Mr. or Ms. Ordinary Citizen. As a Christ follower, you will likely be inclined to consider yourself as an exception to the rule, one who relishes in the positive and spreads far more encouragement and brightness than criticism and pessimism. And we all would hope that to be the case for every other one of us. But we cannot argue against our taste for news that includes a little juiciness, that shares something that is to some degree less than wholesome or completely supportive. We are a fallen man or woman in the midst of a fallen race.
Application
And if you realize that you are one of those who shares like the researchers claim, if your honest examination was less than glowing, then the good news is that there is plenty of good news for you to grab on to. In fact, the best thing for you to do may be to break ties with your current sources of info and surround yourself with words and music that have a much more uplifting purpose intended. Perhaps you should concentrate on the grabbing of good news, like what Paul mentions in Philippians, more than the sharing of whatever news. If you can fill up your tanks with the various means and ways that God is alive and active, perhaps the lure and the effects of the other will begin to fade. For God’s good news brings more behind it, as the good news from Samaria brought Peter and John and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. So go and start the chain reaction and help create a positivity bias.
Charge
As we seek Him today, choose to not send or share the negative, and find something positive from God to replace it.
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
Distributed by – BCWorldview.org
Editor Comment: In an age of viral outrage, this devotional calls believers to interrupt the cycle of negativity and let God's good news be what spreads instead.