My Commissioner Comments from last night – also can be listened to from 2:43:45-2:48:35 at https://www.youtube.com/live/APv-RMcfGY0
“I was listening to part of a podcast this morning by Heidi St. John and recognized some relevance of what she said to some of our own situations.
Government (or more specifically – The Uniparty) desires a narrative and the machine is rewarded.
Social media rewards outrage.
It rewards shock.
BUT – it does not reward the truth.
And that’s the truth.
And when we don’t have the truth, we end up believing lies.
We may end up comparing ourselves in a plethora of worldly measures.
There is so much venom, hate and outright lies – especially in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death. Covid should have taught us not to believe the lies being fed to us. We can’t simply believe headlines.
People often want to hear what they want to hear rather than taking time to discern if it is true. Discernment based on Biblical truth isn’t a feeling or a hunch or an intention, but the Holy Spirit’s ability to distinguish truth from error and wisdom from foolishness.
1 Thessalonians 5:21 tells us to “Test all things and hold fast to what is good.”
While there are hundreds of articles and headlines I could read from tonight, due to time limits, I will just share a few that were used to stir up a community in the past couple of years – to create outrage and to reward shock, but did not reward the truth.
* “60% pay raises likely for Ottawa County Commissioners”
* “Ottawa County Commissioners set to give selves 60% raise”
* “Ottawa County Board of Commissioners Votes to Give Themselves a Hefty Raise”
* “Health officer: Proposed 88% budget cut would likely close Health Dept.”
* “Ottawa County slams claims that $2.5M budget would shutter health department”
The past several weeks- there has been a new round of Social media rewarding outrage and shock. I’ll touch on one of those. It’s surrounding the controversy of $4M to our Health Director, Adeline Hambley.
Since becoming a commissioner and public servant, I have taken the Michigan compiled law regarding closed sessions quite seriously -keeping them confidential in nature. Legal reasons as well as financial stability of a county are two reasons to consider when voting to enter closed session.
When one or more people violate the law, anything goes. Facts and fiction become intermixed, and people become unnecessarily pitted against one another.
I have observed some possible reasons that some here in Ottawa have chosen to violate the closed session law 1) there are not strict penalties 2) no accountability has been given 3) personal limelight and can use for own gains with media and people – they get to set a present and ultimately a future narrative because they are betting that the other commissioners will follow and abide by the law of closed sessions.
How many commissioners were recently contacted by the press once closed meeting minutes were voted on for release regarding the Adeline Hambley case?
I can state that no one contacted me.
Again, The Uniparty desires a narrative and the machine is rewarded.
Social media rewards outrage.
It rewards shock.
BUT – it does not reward the truth.
To end, I share from I Thessalonians 5 – this is also for me.
“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”
