Latest / Beliefs, Ballots, And BullDawgs / Thursday 4/30/26
Transcript
- Greg: Good morning and welcome everybody. Today is Thursday, April 30th, 2026. I am your host, Greg Miller, and this show is Beliefs, Ballots, and Bets, short and faithful steps for wiser choices. I'm glad you're here today and let's get straight into the word. Our scripture verse today comes from Ephesians chapter four, verse 29. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs. that it may benefit those who listen. Well, we, ⁓ we clearly live in a world where not everybody, ⁓ not everybody conducts themselves honorably by this passage. ⁓ you know, Paul's phrase unwholesome talk, it, it's deeper than what I think a lot of people take it at it. It's, it's more than just crude language. It includes careless and misleading and harmful things. And, and what we're going to talk about later in the show, it certainly includes intentionally taking short clips and using them way out of context. the command to only speak what is helpful while building others up. It means that even in times of conflict or potential confrontation, our words should restore truth and dignity and not try to tear people down for attention, but to try to use corrective words in a helpful and beneficial tone. And that takes us to the next step of the scripture, that it may benefit those who listen. The goal is not to score points or win an argument. The goal is to change the patterns and to benefit the one who listens. And if you're trying to correct somebody, then just making them feel like crap and convincing them they're wrong is not always the best step. Truthfulness and charity go hand in hand. Your corrections not only need to be accurate, but they also need to be constructive. And like we were talking about, they need to be aimed at restoring someone rather than trying to humiliate them. You know, we come into practical applications of the scripture every day and there you'll notice the common theme. It's always, you know, pause, take a breath, verify and things of that nature. And today's is no different when you when you're reading anything or digesting any sort of information, it's always good to take a breath, take a minute and ask God for wisdom as to, know, how are you supposed to interpret something? You know, Verify things before you amplify or share them or even engage with anything, you know verify that it's true Hunt down the the original the original source or you know in case of short clips hunt down the full clips see what the full context is and then if if a time comes where you have to be somewhat confrontational or corrective, know build up and do it in a Christian like manner and then on the cases where one of us is wrong own it publicly apologize if you've shared something that you have later found out was incorrect get back on there and own it but no matter what you're doing in these in these moments and when it comes time to having difficult conversations and trying to take a stand for what you believe and in some cases correct others the important thing is to to keep the tone Christian keep the tone as to the way God calls us to to interact with people and it's you the way I look at it is pretty simple it's firm on the facts, but gentle on the person. It comes back to another verse in Ephesians. It's speaking the truth, but speaking the truth in love. Yeah, there's a, we're all so aware of this is there just growing industry of, you know, constant distortion of the facts. And in a lot of cases nowadays, you know, we can't even believe things we see with our own eyes because people are taking clips and weaponizing them and, designing them to, to inflame and not to inform. And these these excerpts in these short clips are clearly not seeking the truth. They're seeking reaction. that's just because of the society we live in these days. Just outrage just monetizes misrepresentation. So even if something is patently untrue, if you get a lot of engagement, some of these folks that do this for a living can can make money off that. And it's that is At its core, that's a moral failure. It is stripping words from their context in order to fit your narrative. Plain and simple, it's lying. It is absolute flat outline. And the human cost of this is real. Think about how many people, go back to one of the most famous clips, the Donald Trump, very fine people clip, that impacted the way people saw the world, that impacted the way people cast votes. And it was patently untrue the way it was presented. know, it's one of those things we all have to be aware of. But then we also have to figure out how do we engage with stuff like this? You know, as Christians, we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard. We don't need to engage in using these deceitful tactics just because the other side does it. know, truth must always be paired with grace. When you see these things, call it out, call out the manipulation. but don't do it in an angry confrontational. Don't simply supply the fuller context, supply the whole clip where possible. We talked about it a little bit on yesterday's show, ask follow-up questions. And if you value the truth, you know, don't, don't celebrate tricks and things that win the moment. It's not about winning, winning an argument on Facebook or X insist on sources. It should be about getting the truth out there because at the end of the day, all of us need more truth in our worlds to make appropriate decisions. And if you if you can commit to this, you know, let your speech be a witness to the gospel. Honest, restorative and courageous, even if it costs you attention. Standing for what's true is always going to be better than standing for what's hot or what's fast or what's quick or what's in the moment. All right, guys, let's get to the sports plays for the day. Three plays from the model today. We've got Denver and Minnesota at Minnesota. We're going under the 225 and a half. I think the only hope Minnesota has to hang around is to try to play good defense and try to get this a little bit lower scoring. So give me Denver and Minnesota under 225 and a half. Second NBA play for the day, we've got Boston minus five and a half at Philadelphia. I Philadelphia is getting worn out. I think Boston's clearly the better team, probably the best team in the East. And I think they go ahead and put the hammer down and get this done tonight at Philadelphia. I Boston covers the five and a half. And then we've got a baseball play where we're going with one of those dreaded unders that nobody likes to play and even less people like to watch. But give me the Royals and the A's under nine and a half. Again, this is one of those cases I got burned a couple of times a few weeks ago playing. I think it was the Royals and the Orioles or the Orioles and the A's and playing the unders is tough, but it's a, it's a big number at nine and a half. I'm not overly impressed with either of these offenses. So three plays for the day, NBA Denver at Minnesota under 225 and a half. NBA Boston minus five and a half at Philly and then Kansas City and the A's under nine and a half in Major League Baseball. Alright guys, as we wrap things up, let's get back to the scripture. Ephesians 429, it calls to truthful and yet edifying speech and online sometimes that means we've got to take a second and we've got to pause and get the full context and then when necessary we have to respond in a gentle yet truthful and corrective way. All right, guys, that's it for the show today. Short episode. Hopefully you guys are paying attention. Hopefully the scripture and the practical applications or something maybe one or two of you can use. If you guys ever need anything, hit me up on social media. I'm glad to engage and try to help out. If you like the show, share it, follow it, subscribe, turn on notifications, do all the things all the other podcasters ask you to do. Just pretend like I'm big and famous like the rest of them are. Alright guys, as always, I certainly appreciate you listening, getting your Bibles, say your prayers, love each other, and tell the truth. God bless.