Microchip (Colossians 2:8-10)

“Several people tested positive for COVID after the second vaccine!”

“Well, of course, it’s a government conspiracy to infect everyone under the pretext of receiving the vaccine.”

“And don’t forget the microchip that they are injecting into everyone so they can track us.”

“No question. You know the code that can unlock the microchip, right? 666!”

We all collapsed in laughter. It was a welcome break of levity as my residents reflected upon their collective experiences after receiving their COVID vaccines. The irony was except for people testing positive for COVID after receiving both doses of the current Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, all of the other statements were false but had garnered huge followings on social media internet sites.

As Abraham Lincoln once stated, “You can’t believe everything you read on the internet.”

Guess where I read that quotation?

Conspiracy theories will never die and why not? When people are subjected to an abrupt forced change in behavior, suspicions of ulterior motives perpetrated by the government and others in authority are certain to abound. From this disruption, a few individuals will claim they have inside information and access to hidden knowledge that reveals the true reason and explanation for the current predicament. Over time, these individuals and their conspiracies gain a following as the internet and social media stoke the dissemination of these ideas. As Washington Post reporter Abby Ohlheiser affirmed, “Conspiracy theories aren’t fueled by facts, they are fueled by attention.”

Conspiracies are nothing new. The early Christians had to deal with many of their own including the Gnostic movement. Briefly, gnosticism averred that salvation could only be achieved by those who had secret inside knowledge. This led to one extreme view that one should acknowledge that the actions of our flesh are unimportant since only our spirit mattered, inevitably leading to a carnal lifestyle. The converse was asceticism which was embraced by other gnostics. 

While this movement may seem far removed from today, many of its tenets still permeate religious and secular movements that are opposed to mainstream Christianity. Rightly did the Apostle Paul warn of the dangers of such false teaching. 

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Colossians 2:8-10 (NLT)

Conspiracies are seductive. At the least, they titillate and elicit a chuckle, at the most, they can be destructive and give rise to more dangerous conspiracies. In life, we should vet everything we read or hear with as many reliable sources as we are able to find. Our spiritual lives are no different. Everything we hear or read must be tested against the Word of God, the Bible. The complete revelation of Truth through faith and belief in Jesus Christ has been given to us. There is no secret knowledge. There is no hidden conspiracy. For anyone who is willing to confess and repent of their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, we will receive God’s filter of Truth to rightly discern empty philosophies and nonsense.

Amen!

Love and trust the Lord; seek His will in your life.

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