"In a time of untruth, the only truth lies within"

Saturday, July 7, 2018

“In a time of untruth, the only truth lies within”

Ephesians 4:25 “Putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his/her neighbor.”

Every day we hear people talking about lying and deceit. Nobody seems to believe anyone else anymore. For example, just yesterday I heard one situation comedy actor say, “you can’t believe anyone anymore” and one real life person say that “life is like the internet you don’t know who to believe.” In a time when even the leader of the most powerful nation in the world makes things up, who are we to believe? How are we to make our way in the world?

Certainly, it seems that when there is great uncertainty in where the truth lies, people will become self-motivated. They will believe the one(s) who tell them what they want to hear, or the ones who say they have the object’s best interests at heart. In a time of lying and deceit where people don’t know who to believe anyway, they will follow their own ego-centered interests. This goes directly against the New Testament direction to “love your neighbor as yourself.” In a time of untruth, one’s neighbor becomes a pawn to seeing how you can get your own ego needs met. Society becomes more and more narcissistic.

How can Christians, or for that matter all ethical people, turn this all around? Certainly, we can begin by following Paul’s admonition to “speak truth with one’s neighbor.” We can follow William Shakespeare’s advice spoken by Polonius to Hamlet, “This above all: to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” The rebuilding of society begins with each individual being as true and accountable to one’s character as one can be. Second, we can work in “character building” social settings such as churches and other community organizations to lift up the values of truthfulness. Third, we can “speak the truth in love” to those closest to us. The cells of building (rebuilding) character in community are certainly family and friends and neighbors. Fourth, we can work to elect ruling officials who value truth and honesty and the good of others over themselves and their own interests.

It may seem overwhelming and beyond reach to restore truthfulness to the point of great integrity. Certainly, our very future relies upon doing just that. How refreshing it will be when we once again hear fictional and real-life characters saying, “I know I can believe everything he/she has to say.” We should not rest until “each one begins speaking the truth in love about others.”