Test everything. Hold fast what is good.

The time for exchanging gifts

Christmas is over. What follows is the time of the gift exchange. While the stores were full of people looking for suitable gifts before Christmas, after Christmas the stores are filled with people who want to get rid of unsuitable gifts. The handling of gifts seems to be in line with the motto for 2025: “Test everything and keep what is good.”

Good things for togetherness

However, the apostle Paul, the author of these lines, would hardly have enjoyed such a capitalism-friendly interpretation. Because if you read his words in the context of his letter to the Thessalonians, it becomes clear that Paul is concerned with something else. Paul encourages his readers to live a life that corresponds to the gospel. “Take heed that no one repays evil for evil,” he says shortly beforehand. “Rather, always strive to do good to one another and to all others.” This is a clear indication that Paul is not encouraging us to gain the greatest possible advantage for ourselves - in the sense of “test everything and keep for yourself what is most beneficial to you.” Paul is concerned with “good” in a different sense.

Listen to the prophets

Immediately before the verse of the annual motto, Paul writes: “Do not disregard prophetic speech.” And follows on seamlessly from this: “Test everything and keep what is good.” It is therefore obvious that Paul refers the “testing” to prophetic speech.

At the time of the Bible, it was the task of prophets to communicate God's will. This often took the form of exhortations, warnings and criticism of misconduct. But biblical prophecy also included encouragement, consolation and encouragement. However, so-called “false” prophets were a problem: People who claim to proclaim God's will; but who actually pursue their very own agenda. In the name of God, or even without naming him, they shamelessly spread lies with the aim of gaining an advantage for themselves. They cause confusion in order to weaken the community. They flatter the powerful and wealthy and confirm everything they want to hear. Or they use clever words to seduce people into a way of life that is harmful. “Test everything and keep what is good,” writes Paul, urging his readers to always listen carefully. Just because someone claims to be in possession of “the truth” or presents themselves as a messenger of God does not necessarily mean that they are actually a prophet in the sense of God.

The criterion that Paul uses to test this is whether the message ultimately serves something good. And by this he means - in line with his previous words - whether it serves the common good: “Make every effort to do good to one another and to everyone else.” In the biblical sense, this can be done through comfort and encouragement as well as criticism and admonition.

Modern prophecy

Today, people rarely claim to proclaim God's will directly. And yet we are constantly confronted with voices that encourage or urge us to do one thing and not another. It is not uncommon for their advice to come with all kinds of promises of salvation. Here is a tip on how to get rich quickly or achieve success. There a drastic warning if you don't follow a certain piece of advice. The market is so full of loud voices that it is easy to lose track of what you are supposed to believe and can still believe.

A very successful strategy of today's “false prophets” is to stir up emotions. Who hasn't come across headlines such as “Minimum income: two thirds not Austrians”. What will people be appalled by in the face of these words? About the fact that people without Austrian citizenship obviously have a particularly hard time on the labor market? Or about the fact that foreigners are lazy?

When emotions run high

The more luridly a headline is worded, the more it is worth asking: what is the intention of the person writing here? Is the author actually trying to provide helpful, factual information? Or is there a hidden agenda, an intention that can only be discovered at second glance? Anyone who wants to weaken cohesion in a society or distract attention from other grievances will be happy to use the strategy of stirring up prejudice against minorities or magnifying insignificant problems. Political capital can also be made with very obvious smear campaigns, according to the motto: something will stick and damage the good reputation of a person or group that actually has integrity.

The list of suitable methods of manipulation goes on and on. And no wonder.  After all, entire branches of research have specialized in finding out how to communicate in order to elicit the desired reaction and behaviour from others. The apostle's exhortation is therefore highly topical: “Test everything. And consider what you want to keep.”

Who do I actually want to listen to?

Because even if we are virtually inundated with information today, it is still up to us to ask ourselves: which voices do I want to believe? Is there a good intention behind the message, the advice? Good in the sense of “beneficial to one another”? Or is someone just trying to manipulate? Some voices or sources of information are best not listened to.

But you could also turn the question around: Which voices do I consciously want to listen to? What do I consciously want to be influenced by? Who can serve as a role model for me when it comes to “doing good to one another”? You can also recognize a good “prophet” by the fact that his message and his behaviour match.

The best role model in this respect is certainly Jesus. His message and his actions match. Being in his community is good and beneficial because his actions and preaching are characterized by a love that is free from selfish ulterior motives. His love is therefore directed towards those who are marginalized and dependent on the solidarity of others.

2025: a year of listening

“Test everything and keep what is good.” In the coming year, these words will remind me to listen carefully and to consciously pay attention to which voices I want to be influenced by.  

Stefan Schröckenfuchs