“What is truth?”
The Roman governor Pilate asked Jesus this question. (John 18:38)
What is truth? It’s hard to decipher the true from the false unless you know the facts. So much false news circulates today, we are hard-pressed to discover the truth. We’ve witnessed how false news posted and spread on social media, a venue that has much potential for good, has led to riots, death threats, and ruined reputations. We make quick judgements without examining the facts.
It’s easy to become entangled with gossip so that we spread untruths about people and events.
“Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.” James 3:5,6a
We can apologize for misspoken words, but we can’t take them back. I know this from experience. We can be sorry for something we’ve posted on Facebook, and even delete it from our feed, but it’s still somewhere in cyberspace. The potential for harm remains. It takes just a spark to start a forest fire, or an undisciplined word to ruin a reputation.
As a teacher, I want to teach truth so my students will be knowledgeable and discerning. As a writer, I want to write truth so my readers will apply truth and be free from bondage to lies. As a friend, I want to speak the truth in love so my friends will be encouraged to walk through life with honesty and integrity. I want people to be able to trust my words and be uplifted and edified by them.
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold
In settings of silver. Proverbs 25:11
As a Christian I believe God is the source of truth. Through His Son Jesus Christ (John 14:6), His Word the Bible (John 17:17), and His Holy Spirit (John 16:13), we can discover the truth. When we know it, we can teach, write, and speak it. When we filter truth through God, we can learn to interpret life around us so that we don’t fall prey to lies or start a forest fire with false truth.
Let the words of my mouth
And the meditations of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14
(Scripture quotations from NKJV. Photos from Pixabay.com)
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