The truth is getting more and more elusive. How disheartening it is to hear people claim that there is no such thing as absolute truth, that all truth is relative. As Paul the apostle said, if it isn’t absolutely true that Jesus died and rose again, then Christians are to be pitied above all men. But it is true, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6) Our God is a God of truth. (Deuteronomy 32:4) He not only despises deceit, He despises anything that dilutes or manipulates the truth.
The Bible tells us to put on the whole armor of God. (Ephesians 6) The very first piece of armor Paul asks us to put on is the belt of truth. Tucked into that belt of truth is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
Today we have at our finger tips the answers to just about any question we might have—there’s no need to wrack our brains trying to remember names, places or stats. We simply Google it.
Johnny Carson used to have a segment asking a guest if a certain individual was dead or alive. Bob and I play it now.
“Do you think Bob Newhart is still alive?” “Do you think Bob Dole is still alive?’
We place bets and then ask our phones for the answer. Mostly we’re stunned at how long people are living. Turns out, both Bobs are alive and kicking.
I watched an interview with the co-founder of Wikipedia. He has either retired or will be shortly ushered out because he admitted how often Wikipedia scrubs facts they don’t want remembered. Think of the ramifications! They're literally able to change history! I’ve seen this first hand. I read a rather interesting story about a well known person, but when I went to share it with Bob, it was gone. If they can eliminate the truth, they could just as easily make up their own "facts." The days of going to the library and actually looking up something in a real encyclopedia are gone forever. Now we rely on a source that we now know can't be trusted to give us the truth. How many of us trust our phones for answers—yet they’re increasingly untrustworthy. We can’t lazily ask our phones and trust them to give us the facts. We certainly can’t trust the media. We have to do our own research, and even then, things we know are true or things we know happened are taken down. We are told it’s disinformation, it’s been debunked, or it’s settled science (actual data is no longer necessary).
But there is one book that can never be “taken down.” Every year the Bible is far and away the best selling book in the world. Despite it being banned and burned, Jesus assured us that though heaven and earth will pass away, His Word will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35)
I looked up some quotes on truth. Some were downright depressing, especially ones claiming we are all entitled to our own truth, or that truth is constantly changing, or that if a lie is told often enough it becomes the truth.
But I also found quotes that were inspiring, words spoken from people long gone, yet their words today are surprisingly prescient. To quote just a few—
“In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” —George Orwell
“…in general, it is the object of our newspapers to create a sensation—to make a point—rather than further the cause of truth.” —Edgar Allen Poe
“The man who fears no truth has nothing to fear from lies.” —Thomas Jefferson
Ultimately, the only truth that matters is that Jesus lived, died and rose again. God sent Him to save the world, not condemn it. (John 3:17) What comfort it is to know that in spite of living in a time of ever changing “truth,” Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Glory, Glory hallelujah
His truth keeps marching on
