Suspicion grows best in the dark.

When we’re hurt, when trust is fractured, when trauma has left its fingerprint on our souls, the temptation is to retreat. To circle the wagons. To pull back from people because people were the problem.

Isolation doesn’t just keep us “safe.” It breeds suspicion.

Suspicion whispers, “You can’t trust them. They’re out to get you. Better watch your back.” And soon, suspicion metastasizes into paranoia. Paranoia convinces us we’re discerning when, in fact, we’re simply afraid.

But the Bible tells a different story.

Our country has just walked through a major national tragedy.
The murder of Charlie Kirk was not only heard about—it was seen. Millions watched the footage, a demonic spectacle replayed on screens that seared itself into our collective memory.

Moments like this mark a generation. They don’t just change what we see—they change how we think. If we’re not careful, these moments embed lies into the background code of our soul’s operating system. They hum quietly, but they redirect our choices, limit our identity, and even reroute our destiny.

The work isn’t just to grieve. The work is to debug.

Here are seven lies that surface after tragedy—and the truths that expose them:

Most of us think of the fruit of the Spirit as a private list.
Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.
Nine nice words to hang on a wall.

But what if Paul wasn’t handing us a personal development checklist?
What if he was describing a compatibility code?