As many as seventy-five times in the four gospels, Jesus declares, “I tell you the truth.” He does so to draw attention and to emphasize what follows. He’s also underscoring that what he is about to say is true and not a lie. Truth reaches to the core and very nature of who Jesus is. So much so that Jesus invokes God’s name when declaring, “I am the truth” in John 14:6.
As followers of Christ we are a people who step into truth, or into Truth, without trying to shade him with lies. Sometimes it’s a tall order.
In my lifetime a number of factors have converged that have created a perfect storm to cast a long shadow on truth. While I’m unsure as to if a “cause and effect” exists, certainly a correlation can be found in these factors.
► The Rise of Postmodernity: in an over simplification, truth lost any sense of universal or objective morality, reason or reality. Each individual for themselves what is right or wrong.
► The Eroding Trust in the Government/Institutions: the Vietnam Conflict, Watergate, economic downturns, abuse of power, over billing and self-serving leadership has led to a “drain the swamp” mentality.
► Church’s Fall from Grace: church has shifted from being the center of society to the fringes, and from the place of authority to the place of irrelevancy. Teaching is questioned, while transformation is too often dismissed.
► The Pushback against Academia: we are a society that educates its people while undermining the value of an education (i.e., questioning scientific evidence). As a society, we don’t read. In fact, we hate reading.
► The Attraction to Conspiracy Theories: people long to make sense of horrific/world events, to feel a sense of control and to make themselves look “good” because they are “in the know.” Thus, people are willing to chase and embrace these extravagant explanations.
► The Flood of Information: the internet and social media has given us more information without filters. Trying to wade through the sea of data is overwhelming and paralyzing. Anything posted on the internet is too often met with credibility instead of skepticism.
► Ideological Bias: we all live with blinders. We tend to filter information through our own beliefs. Sometimes it’s helpful to weed out the bad, but other times we throw out the flower that needs to grow.
Jesus calls us to truth. But the provided list sometimes makes it hard to find the truth. Sometimes I feel like “the truth doesn’t have a chance against such a convincing lie” (Andy Andrews). But Jesus keeps calling us to truth. We have to keep listening through the white noise. When truth is being shaded, remember how the silhouette offers nothing, but the reality is full of substance. Or said another way, the lie will grip to enslave with fear, while the truth will set us free (Jn. 8:21).
Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e. only God is glorified!)