Thank God for truth.
Truth is a powerful and liberating force. When it is set free it cuts trough impression management like a hot knife in butter. But contrary to popular assumptions, truth is not loud, oppressive or showy. It is quiet, persistant and steady. Despite its appeal, we often avoid the truth. We sometimes prefer snap judgements, rumors or our preconceived ideas about the way things must be. To be confronted with the truth requires that we change. Sometimes its a change of opinion, often it is a change of life. Sometimes its a reorientation, often it requires repentance. Truth is massively inconvenient that way.
A commitment to be persons of truth can sometimes make us targets for slander or abuse from those who fear truth or have a vested interest in impression management. Vaclev Havel once remarked that all oppressive regimes are most violent in the final throes of their existence. I imagine that that is true in part because oppressive regimes, oppressive organizations and oppressive people depend so much on power, control and the use of half-truth.
What is our commitment to truth to look like? The Message says it this way, "God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love-like Christ is everything." (EPH.4:15)
Got Truth?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
good word Steve-- as we have shared, truth is like the sun-- it breaks forth like the dawn with brilliance after we have waited for it through the night. Then it slowly, almost imperceptibly rises bit by bit until it is noon-day where "nothing can escape its heat."
When Tolkien created Middle Earth - he borrowed from many mythologies to populate his world. Yet when it came time to create evil - he recast the biblical devil for the role. What is amazing is that Middle Earth was not ultimately destroyed with shield, sword, and spear - it was undone by lies, half-truths spoken to wounded hearts, and whispers in the dark that caused doubt and mistrust to grow. Who would have thought you couldn't make a worse bad guy than Satan - the father of lies, the accuser, the one seeking to bring all to himself?
It's the same in our world - paradise was destroyed because we swallowed a half-truth. Only the Truth can set us free again.
Post a Comment