“When speaking truth in a land of liars, it is received by those liars as a declaration of war.” —Garrett J. White
The spirit of accusation will fall in 2025 because a revival spirit of intercession and devotion is rising. People are going to be delivered from the failure porn cartel and the addiction to self-righteousness. In order for this to occur, we must consider a few powerful truths:
— First truth: Accusation will never lead to accountability. Accusation will never lead to accountability because the accusation is not built on the foundation of the truth but rather on one’s version of the truth filtered through one’s feelings, opinions and past experiences. The tabloids that used to sit in the checkout lines of grocery stores are similar to what we see on X, YouTube, TikTok and blog sites today.
The tabloids, like modern technological vehicles of communication, do not lead to real accountability. Only the truth leads to accountability. Accusation leads to confusion, anger and fear and causes significant collateral damage in the hearts, minds and souls of good people.
— Second truth: Social media has become weaponized. Weapons of mass emotion are dropped on social media with the intention of getting people to feel before they think. If you can get someone to feel a certain way, then you can implant a belief on what they should think. This is exactly how media and social media have become weaponized to spread feelings and not facts.
On X I have personally seen two unique methods of fear. The first is the expansion of an echo chamber that is loud and hollow—loud with the voices of many fake accounts and profiles that swarm differing opinions with fierce hate and attack. The second is the silence of good individuals who see what is happening but intentionally decide not to speak about situations because of the fear of being attacked mercilessly and the inability to see the complete truth in the tidal wave of disinformation. It is almost like in the early church when the epistles were read in secret for fear of attack. I believe the truth, not the accusation, is being spread in secret out of fear of being attacked.
Recently the X account DOCA published an article on counterfeit Christianity. In this article, the author mentions that “For the first time in history, technology has given uninformed opinions and international platforms and mad superstars of those who find a following in controversy.” This entire article is worth reading several times over.
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I am encouraged by more people standing on the truth of the Word of God with the love of God to speak out. I personally am encouraged by official accounts like DOCA and others that are willing to ask hard questions to get to the truth.
In my doctoral studies I specialized in social media and the study of human behavior. When people do what they do, I always want to ask the question of why. Why do they say or do those things, and especially online?
In my study of human behavior, I have discovered patterns. The single greatest reason and pattern I see for why people attack and tear down others is to meet their deep human need of significance and to be accepted by others.
— Third Truth: The Word of God is the standard. As Spirit-filled followers of Jesus, we have the Word of God as our standard. Here are a few verses from James to consider.
1. “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19, NIV).
2. “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless” (James 1:26).
3. “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:12-13).
4. “But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8).
5. “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it” (James 4:11).
Now obviously we know that these verses do not apply at all to how we interact with others and most certainly how we interact online.
As we close out this year and walk into another, I remember the final lines in the epilogue of the movie “Braveheart”:
“In the year of our Lord 1314, patriots of Scotland—starving and outnumbered—charged the fields of Bannockburn. They fought like warrior poets; they fought like Scotsmen, and won their freedom.”
Fight like warrior poets, my friends.
Fight with the truth in a land filled with liars.
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Dr. Malachi A. O’Brien is a contributor to Charisma Media.
Abby Trivett 
