We are living in a time where truth is often substituted with opinion, and facts are disregarded simply because people do not like the rules that accompany them.

Sound wisdom is sometimes labeled as “picking on someone,” and even the term gaslighting has gained increasing popularity since the 1944 film adaptation starring Ingrid Bergman.

The Bible warns us that such things will occur and reminds us that arguing endlessly about them is unwise. In Titus 3:9, Paul writes, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.”

As Christians, it is not our job to debate every issue or engage in every argument. Instead, we are called to reflect God through our testimony and the way we live.

Jesus instructed His disciples to share the good news and, if it was not received, to “shake the dust off their feet” and move on. While that passage refers to a different situation, the principle can still be applied today. There comes a time when wisdom tells us to disengage rather than continue a fruitless discussion.

Our hope is not found in debating the truth, but in living it. And when we know the truth, it gives us hope.

Where there is hope, there is a way.