hen John Poulos, CEO of Dominion Voting Systems talked to“60 Minutes” in an October episode, the man looked weary and close to tears. Poulos and his company seeks billions in damages in a libel suit against media giants Fox news and OAN (One America News Network), purveyors of a conspiracy that claimed Dominion’s voting machines were manipulated online or somehow malfunctioned to advantage Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential elections.

For Poulos, the runaway rumors—though decisively and consistently debunked—still lead to death threats. In testimony to Congress, the nonpartisan research and thinktank Brennan Center detailed how the “Big Lie” has filtered through new restrictive voting rights laws that disenfranchise voters of color. New laws actually use language that incorporates the Big Lie’s talking points. People energized by the Big Lie’s falsity feel licensed to harass or even threaten election workers with criminal prosecution.

We can’t help but wonder what these everyday practices—the consumption of half-truths, the purveying of “my facts,” the conclusions drawn from unsupported claims, and the stubbornness pandemic have on the conscience. The pushback against “wokeness”—actual legislative proposals in the state of Florida—is a spiritual analogy too good to pass up here as I make a hard left turn now.

Deception, and the orientation to allow oneself to be deceived, after all, is proven death to the spiritual mind, and ultimately, one’s destiny (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). Sustained consciousness on each of our parts will be necessary as we meet lies that threaten to embed themselves in our minds and, by extension, our actions. But, if you want to fight wokeness, I’m hereby issuing this prescription sedative for the alert and active spiritual mind.

1. Swear allegiance to traditions and word of mouth. Never ask for backup, receipts, citations, footnotes, or sources.
2. Go wherever your ambition and money allow, and pay no attention to the poor and uninfluential (see Jesus’ illustrations in Luke 12:17-19; Luke 16:20-31). Note, you’ll sleep well now, but you might be in for a rude awakening.
3. Foster superficial understanding and a determined lack of critical thinking by merely drinking all the media you can without any internal, moral dialogue on your part to challenge it. Spend more time memorizing talking points, ideas, or even Bible verses, rather than studying and wrestling with information. Don’t develop the mental muscle that can reason and analyze (John 4:23, 24; 16:13).
4. Let injustice and dishonesty flourish around you. Whether at work, home, school, or your community, just adapt. Don’t say, post, write, or protest anything that strikes you as problematic at its outset. Your conscience will quiet. The feeling will go away.
5. Finally, but in all seriousness, ascribe to just a few unbiblical beliefs. Just three little lies revolving around what happens when we die, and by extension, how God relates to people who die or even people who reject Him, can set us up for spiritual deception