We have a real crisis in America. No, I am not talking about the pandemic, the elections, the national debt and such. We have a crisis of not telling the truth. People lie with little thought to the importance of the truth. They say, “This is my truth!” No, this is your experience or your opinion, but you do not have a corner on truth. In God’s kingdom, you don’t get to make up truth. You are deceived if you think you can.
“My truth” is a postmodern idea, not based on absolute truth. It is the idea that what is right for me is right. It harkens back to a biblical time in the book of Judges in which everyone did what was right in their own eyes. And this approach to life did not end well for them. Why? Because they refused the truth and invented their own realities.
I believe in absolute truth. It’s not popular to say this. It sounds, well, judgmental, intolerant, not very inclusive of everyone. Hmmm….the Bible is clear on this. One way to God through Jesus. This is as inclusive as it could possibly be because the offer is open to everyone. Jesus is the Truth. There is no other way. You choose Him or you don’t.
If you choose to believe differently, make up your own truth and do what you feel is right, you don’t inherit eternal life according to the authority of the Bible. This message has not changed since Jesus left earth. Yet this truth is under attack. The attack is based on an old strategy harkening back to the Garden of Eden. You can be your own God. You decide to eat the fruit. Who is God to tell you anything? Have “my truth” and eat the fruit. Be your own God. This is the crisis we face. It’s a lie that has taken hold. My truth is all that matters. Tell that to Adam and Eve!
Without truth, we have no moral guide. Truth is supposed to match reality. For the person of faith, reality is that we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom and residents of this earth. Our time here is temporary. We are supposed to live our lives according to the truth of God’s Word. The Bible is our truth guide. Jesus is our King.
Now, if you don’t believe in Jesus and the truth of the Bible, everything is up for grabs. You create your own reality, your own truth and decide how you will live. This is what we see in our society more and more as Jesus is marginalized and Christians are bullied into silence. We are told not to speak our truth because it is offensive! Wait, I thought I could speak my truth in a postmodern world. Who are you to judge my biblical truth and tell me I can’t own it? That doesn’t fit your postmodern position. I should be allowed to have my truth.
Do you see how deceptive this is? It’s all based on a lie that there is no absolute truth.
When there is no absolute truth, you can’t trust. What results is lies to forward whatever purpose or reality you would like to create. Lying creates a reality that allows you to do whatever you want to do. Then, we don’t know who to trust. Lies create confusion. Truth, on the other hand, sets you free.
The challenge for each Christian is to judge everything against the Word of God. If something doesn’t line up biblically, it is not truth. So, forget your political party and start judging things based on how they line up with the Word. Look at issues through a biblical lens versus a party line.
Truth matters. Don’t cower from it. Speak the truth in love. Stand for truth. Be the church. Bring truth into all the issues we face. To do this, we need to know the Bible and have courage.
As an aside, I am not worried about the craziness of the election. God is on the throne. He allows kings to reign and is in control of our government. Nothing happens that He doesn’t allow. Our allegiance is to the King of Kings. The government will not fix our country no matter who is in power. Only Christ can transform the heart and bring real change. That is the truth!
The show is over. Why do we lie so much? Because we don’t live in the truth!